Tyran Hawthorn

I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1987. The following year my family moved to Cape Town in South Africa where we lived for four years until 1991, when it was discovered that I had a terminal condition known as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a dev-astating genetic muscle wasting disease which is caused by a missing protein, causing all my muscles to degenerate throughout

my life, eventually leading to paralysis and early death, for which there is no cure.

We came to live in England in June 2000, where I underwent major spinal surgery in the August of that year. I began studying art and design and discovered a love for the arts, especially surrealism and ne art. In my GCSE year, I was critically ill and spent three weeks in intensive care, causing my condition to deteriorate to the extent that I could no longer draw, making pursuit of

art and graphic design very difficult.

I I went on to study a BA Honours degree in Photography at Portsmouth University. Unfortunately, my studies have been disrupt-ed on a couple of occassions due to serious illness linked with my condition. I am now in my fth year and completing my nal year of study and I hope to graduate in the summer of 2014. After which I look forward to continuing my pursuit of a career as a

professional photographer.

I annually participate in a lobby seeking additional funding to further the research in nding a cure for the current incurable dis-ease of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). It entails handing in petitions to the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street and to the Ministry of Health, requesting additional funds for this medical research and lobby support from our Members of Par-

liament at Westminster.

I believe that disability does not mean inability. I aim to be a gurehead for what can be achieved and aim to continue using my work as a catalyst for increasing support in the research to nd a cure for Duchenne.

Photographic Style

When I started the creative arts, I was inspired by the Surrealist Still Life work of Dali and Magritte, which led me to draw images in this style.When I began photographing still Life was the rst topic that interested me, as it was the topic that I was most drawn to out of all the themes I had researched because it was the most practical and accessible theme. Within the topic of still life there are an innite number of objects, patterns and textures you can photograph and utilize.

I hI have explored still life for the past ve or six years, mainly focusing on themes of vanity and decay, relating to my thoughts and inner most feelings concerning my condition. I have operated in the realms of Surrealism, Vanitas and Abstraction and most recently have moved into portraiture whilst still carrying those same themes of

vanity and decay.

I look forward to taking my still life and portraiture skills into a commercial environment in the near future.

Modern Vanitas

Images from my rst exhibition on Modern Vanitas 'The torment and decay of Duchenne'.

“This was an awareness raising exhibition and fundraising charity event for research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, an incurable and terminaldisease which causes the decay of muscles and difficulties with breathing and movement.

Within this series I have used surreal and experimental photographic images to illustrate his mixed emotions of anger at his condition, juxtaposedwith his enjoyment of heavy metal music, horror movies and escapist dreams from everyday life.

This fascinating genre of art that features objects rich in morbid symbolism such as skulls, rotting food, and wilting owers, which are used inThis fascinating genre of art that features objects rich in morbid symbolism such as skulls, rotting food, and wilting owers, which are used inorder to produce in the viewer's mind an acute awareness of the brevity of life and the inevitability of death”.

Vanitas Five

Vanitas Two

Vanitas Three

Vanitas Six

Vanitas Seven

Vanitas Sixteen

Vanitas Fifteen

Vanitas Twelve

Landscapes of Erosion

“For this project I documented the natural process of decay and decomposition taking over the territory of manmade metal objects. For this work, I am alsogoing to take really close-up images of these changes in order to construct dream-like dimensions or landscapes. The object acted as its own frame with its owncharacter occurring naturally without any interference, except the movement of my lens and the introduction of some light.

The eroding process causes the object to become more chaotic and abstract, but ironically people will attempt to impose an order or new life into these imagessubconsciously. It is an inherent fear within the human psyche to not want things to end indenitely. subconsciously. It is an inherent fear within the human psyche to not want things to end indenitely.

I played upon this facet of human emotion and longing for continuance of life and order to provoke an emotional or cognitive response towards my work. Thusdocumenting on one level these dying objects but also the human condition and thought process that leads us to construct in the moments we view these images.

Castle of Isolation

Untitled One

Untitled Two

Untitled Three

Landscapes of Erosion

“The Following Pages are a continuance of Landscapes of Erosin, however within this series I introduced more forced elements such as, lights, reectors, lasers, mirrors and water.

I also spent more time correcting / manipulating the colour, contrast, hue and white balance in post production.”

Untitled 69

Martian Landscape

Sunset One Moon

The Transient Nature of Age & the Deterioration of Vanity

Irrespective of age we are all subject to the effects of time, from the youngest child to the eldest family member we are all subject to the same natural process.

By photographing a range of people from 10 months old to 92 I have covered most of this process.

IIn striving to portray the various stages of ageing from infancy through to old age I have maintained a uniformity in my images, adhering to a set of rules I created for myself when shooting.Posture, direction faced, head room expression as well as other attributes were all part of my thinking when shooting, in order to ensure the focus is on the ageing and age of each subject as opposed to their individual character or identity. One’s focus should be the details, the skin and its perfections or im-

perfections. I encourage the subject to be a forethought and to be treated objectively.

Displayed on transparencies as a walk through Vanitas of the ageing process, the light at different periods of the day being symbolic of the effects of time, effects we are all subject to.

Vanity One

Vanity Three

Vanity Four

Vanity Eight

Vanity Nine

www.tyranhawthornphotography.co.uk / tyran@tyranhawthornphotography.co.uk

T.07917355452