John Raine and Mark Foster

Jon Raine is a photographer and Mark Foster is a freelance writer. In a previous life Jon was an Advertising Art Director. In Marks previous life he was a French peasant woman called Isobel. Neither of these has proved insurmountable obstacles. Their work comes from a desire to create something free from the restrictions of their professional trades. Johns photography has an edge to it that struck a chord with Mark. Once the pain subsided, words appeared. Mark jotted them down and put them alongside the images. The result excited the two of them so much they had to sit down for a few minutes. One critic has said of their work: The collision of images and words creates a context in which thoughts cease to be and the frailty of
the Human Condition is shown for what it is. Each work explores the last known battlefield in art, where space, colour, vibrancy and space aliens vie for supremacy.

Jon and Mark think it might be simpler than that. The text might bring out something in the image that would
otherwise have been hidden. Their work may make you feel happy, sad or an emotion that is difficult to put into words, or pictures. Whatever, its been
fun to do and we hope you enjoy it too. John and Mark's work can be seen in the Old Mill Gallery in August and September 2008