Mark Aitken
Mark Aitken, Ph.D is an artist and academic whose practice includes film, photography, writing and radio. His research concerns trauma of loss. Mark has
creatively collaborated with subjects to produce emotionally resonant projects
about loss of family, home, history and community. Working across different
mediums over many years offers a body of work that is unified yet diverse and at
home in cinemas, galleries, installations, bookshops and on radio.
Mark is currently researching a multi-media project about how humans, nature and
animals coexist within the context of traumatic loss of habitat and wildlife. A feature
documentary, Old beasts in a new world is in development; commissioned
installations for upcoming arts residencies in Spain and a photos series in a primates
sanctuary are being produced.
Mark’s award winning films engage empathetically with traumatised subjects.
Broadcast internationally, subjects include a Mexican psychiatric hospital run by its
own patients; a fearful white South African rural community; a Vietnamese refugee’s
journey home and the loss of a community allotment in London.
Mark’s photo installation Sanctum Ephemeral and book about a community losing
their homes will be exhibited in Girona in 2020. The series won the UK National
Open Art 2017 and was published in national press and magazines. He’s published
two photo-books and written for Aesthetica, Electric Sheep, Time Out, Photomonitor
and Unmediated.
Teaching film practice since 1990, Mark founded a non-profit film education
company in 2003 that produced over 40 films. Mark lectured at Goldsmiths,
University of London for 11 years. He currently lectures at Central St Martins,
London and offers creative consultancy to professionals. He was awarded his
doctorate, Emotional truths in documentary making from Goldsmiths in 2019.
Mark produced a radio series on London’s Resonance fm for 15 years and continues
radio production at independent station Dublab in Barcelona.
thedeepriver.org