Martin Newth – Rush Hour

8 January - 19 February 2005

It is anticipated that by 2010, drivers in the UK will spend an extra working week per year stuck in traffic. In Rush Hour, artist and photographer Martin Newth confronts this inevitable reality by photographing Bedford commuter routes during peak travel times.

Rush Hour includes an extraordinary series of images that empathise with the plight of the commuter. Photographs taken with hour long exposure times reduce the relentless movement of thousands of cars and people to a faint blur. These quiet, still images that appear to depict empty roads and office spaces belie the frantic, noisy daily rush of commuter life.

Rush Hour also features a series of black and white images showing the interior of a disused office block. Traces of the building’s past are evident in the faded carpets and tangled wires. Displayed as a column the work depicts a slice through Bedford’s tallest structure, a last glimpse at the tired office spaces before sections are transformed into residential living areas.

Rush Hour is an intriguing exhibition that explores the way we live and work today.