Kathryn Martin (b. 1972) is a photographer based in East Sussex. She originally studied French at the University of Hull before pursuing photography at the London College of Printing. From 2000, she spent over a decade in London as a documentary photographer, focusing on editorial projects and environmental issues. During this time, she worked as a photographer for Neal’s Yard Remedies, documenting the company’s relocation from Battersea to Dorset. This experience deepened her knowledge of native plants. Following the Rio Earth Summit and the introduction of Agenda 21, she collaborated with environmental organizations on photographic and community projects aimed at reconnecting urban communities with nature.
Now working from her studio in the South Downs National Park, Martin’s practice explores the traditions, stories, memories and relationships of the individual to the landscape. In 2021, she held her first solo exhibition, Come, See Real Flowers of This Painful World, at Egg in London. The show featured 49 native wildflowers collected on repeated walks in 2019 and 2020, drawing its title from a haiku by Matsuo Basho. The series was also exhibited at The Hillcrest Art Centre in Newhaven, with selected works displayed at Dover Street Market.
In 2022, Martin was commissioned by the Photo Fringe Festival to collaborate with the Newhaven community and local photographic archives, producing large-scale collages exploring the theme of utopia. The resulting work was exhibited outdoors as part of the festival. In 2023, following her exhibition at Egg, she became the first artist-in-residence at Taigh Whin in the Scottish Highlands, where she developed a new series inspired by the region’s geology and flora. Her first book, Ossa, published in 2024 by Jane & Jeremy, focuses on the landscape of Itford Hill in East Sussex.
In November 2024 Kathryn exhibited works as part of the exhibition A Land Within, curated by Jane Kunze alongside artists such as Véronique Rolland, Rhiannon Adam, Alison Lloyd and Eric Hosking.
Between personal work, teaching and commissions, Kathryn has also worked for House Biennial and the photography development agency, Photoworks.
