Almost An Island

7x7 inches, Soft Cover, 66 pages

Photographs 2016 to 2020. The changing Nova Scotia coastline and diverse landscapes from the Northern tip of Cape Breton Island to its most Southern point, Seal Island. A portion of this series has been gathered into this small book as a collection that stands as part of the artistic narrative of this Eastern Canadian province. Almost An Island is a study of what remains of the wild coastal regions of Nova Scotia in contemporary times as headlands, beach heads and forested coastal areas are pushed more and more towards industrial and residential development. The original book was published as a Limited Edition (sold out) and is now available in a soft cover version. Marks worked mostly in medium format film to produce this work, a return to his time as Royal Navy photographer in the 1980’s.

Purchase and view the full book here (softcover).

Below, work from the Almost An Island.

Mark Brennan's photographs have a purposeful stillness contained in them, a contemporary feel that evokes a layered landscape where light and form are the the ever present elements. These works are rendered, the artist using his imagination in an attempt to see beyond the initial observation and into the rhythms of movement and play of light over time, unseen by the human eye. He exposes the film for a minute or more, sometimes up to 15 minutes to generate a simplification of the scene into image that has stillness and an anchored quality when viewed. Mark spent months on the road ranging Nova Scotia over a four year period to search out the forms and light required to make these photographs using medium format film.