Research- Martina Mullaney

Martina Mullaney is an Irish born, British based photographer. I looked at her series 'Turn In' when I was doing A level photography and I feel it was relevant to go back to and research again. It's taken in hostels and shelters for the homeless and basically photographs the various sleeping quarters provided.

Mullaney's work varies in the way it covers identity to most of the research I've done thus far. It almost conceals the identity as you see little more than the wall and part of the bed. What you learn about the person who slept there the previous night is actually very little but the photographs are evocative in terms of colour and the texture of the bed. This absence of identity actually means the viewer is more likely to construct one from what they see and what they imagine.

When I look at the images, i wonder why the person's life has come to them being so desperate for a roof over their head and a bed that they ended up here. I create a narrative in my head or try and imagine who it was that had that bed. Some of them were neatly put back together, others had the covers thrown askew and the sheets crumpled. This says a lot about the people too and the engaging aspect that it creates with the viewer is powerful. She could have photographed more of the room, perhaps of the items in it and she could even have photographed the subjects in the beds. But this wasn't her aim and I actually think the project is much more beautiful for not being so cliche or doing any of this.

A bed is such a private, intimate place but does that lose all meaning in these hostels and shelters? We think our most private/intimate thoughts in bed, perhaps we voice them, perhaps it's the dreams we have. Perhaps it's where we panic, or maybe just go to forget everything. Sleeping and the bed is a crucial part of a person's life and creates a part of their identity. These rooms see so many people come and go, does it lose its meaning here or does it just adapt and hold more identites in one. The memories and the identity of the people before linger in the room.

It's sort of the same situation as when you go into a hotel room. I'm sure i'm not the only person whose wondered who stayed here the night before, what were they like, where were they going. I've also sometimes found an item left behind that the cleaner missed, be it something as tiny as a receipt or wrapper.

Below are several of Mullaney's images:-