For more than twenty years I have used photography to explore the relationships between people, place and social change. From internationally published press photography and commercial commissions to award-winning humanitarian and participatory projects, this portfolio brings together work created across the world. While the subjects vary, a common thread runs through the images: a belief in photography’s ability to tell meaningful stories, challenge assumptions and foster understanding.
Made while documenting human rights issues within Burundi’s judicial system, this portrait reflects the complex legacy of conflict in a country still rebuilding after civil war. The work contributed to a wider effort to highlight barriers to justice and support institutional reform. The photograph was subsequently exhibited as part of the 2010 Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
At the time, many children were passing through a justice system ill-equipped to meet their needs. Through portraits such as this, the project sought to bear witness to lives often overlooked within official accounts and statistics.
Find out more here: https://martinandmartin.eu/2010/07/11/taylor-wessing-portrait-prize-10-11/
Find out more here: https://martinandmartin.eu/2023/02/07/gutwara-neza-good-governance-in-burundi-european-commission/
This photograph was made in 2012 while working with VSF Suisse and UNICEF in South Sudan, then the world’s newest nation. The assignment focused on communities affected by conflict and programmes supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers, helping to break cycles of intergenerational violence. Cattle camps such as this remain central to social, cultural and economic life across much of South Sudan. The image was later shortlisted in the World Food Programme’s ‘Food for Life’ category of the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year Awards.
Find out more here: https://martinandmartin.eu/2012/07/17/vsf-suisse-south-sudan/
Kurt Perschke’s RedBall Project in Paris and London. As lead photographer for the world’s longest-running street art project, I travelled with the installation across Europe and North America, documenting its interaction with cities, architecture and the public in locations including London, Paris, Montreal, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Night fishermen on Lake Tanganyika. Made while assisting National Geographic photographer David Pluth on tourism commissions in Rwanda and Burundi, this image dates from a formative period in my career when I was learning to balance visual storytelling with the demands of commercial photography.
Alongside my humanitarian work, I have undertaken a wide range of commercial commissions, from helping establish the in-flight magazine for Rwanda’s national airline to creating advertising campaigns for major organisations. My commercial work includes imagery used in a national rebranding campaign for Oxfam.
Find out more here: https://martinandmartin.eu/2017/07/11/oxfam-food-or-all-campaign-re-brand/
My work has been exhibited internationally, including solo exhibitions in London and Kigali, and group exhibitions in New York, Paris, Dakar and Washington DC. Venues include the National Portrait Gallery, London; the National Museum of Rwanda; Calicoon Fine Arts, New York; and the Dakar Biennale.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Kigali, Rwanda.
Made while working for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA), this photograph documents Sarkozy’s historic 2010 visit to Rwanda, the first by a French president since the genocide against the Tutsi. During the visit he acknowledged France’s “serious errors of judgement” in the period leading up to the genocide, a moment widely seen as an important step in rebuilding relations between the two nations.
Empires Wake is a cretaive photographic exploration of history, memory and representation in West Africa. Made in Sierra Leone, Mali and Togo, the project combines portraits and landscapes from places shaped by empire, trade and migration, while seeking to centre the lives and identities of the people who inhabit them today.
Alongside my humanitarian and documentary practice, I have produced travel photography across Africa, Europe and North America for editorial, tourism and publishing clients. These images have appeared in publications including National Geographic Traveller, Condé Nast Traveller, The Economist, Vogue Italia, Lonely Planet and The Rough Guide, documenting the landscapes, cultures and everyday lives that define a place.
For over a decade, I have facilitated participatory photography and video projects with communities across Africa and Asia. Whether working with former child soldiers in South Sudan, young peacebuilders in Rwanda, or Amazigh women documenting climate change in Morocco, my role is to create collaborative processes through which people can represent their own experiences, perspectives and aspirations.
To find out more visit: https://martinandmartin.eu/2025/09/12/visualizing-peace-youth-participatory-film-making-in-rwanda-to-influence-mental-health-policy/
https://martinandmartin.eu/2024/07/04/seeing-change/
https://martinandmartin.eu/2024/06/29/visionaries-of-kigali/
Martin and Martin 