Joining the Dots with photographer Guy Martin
- Text by Michael Fordham
- Photography by Michael Fordham
Recorded in Don Letts’ creative bunker at the bottom of his West London garden, Joining the Dots traces the way artists, athletes, activists, and subcultures have interacted across decades and continents without even realising.
Across the course of this first season, Don sat down to talk with guests as diverse as big-wave surfer Andrew Cotton, skater and artist Ed Templeton, writer and journalist Hattie Collins, and emerging musician Georgia.
In this episode of Joining the Dots, Don meets photographer Guy Martin who has been a member of the Huck family from the very beginning. The Cornwall-raised lensman began life as a surf photographer but inspired by photojournalists like Don McCullin and Larry Burrow he soon turned his attentions to conflict photography instead. In his mid-twenties, he found himself at the heart of the Arab Spring, following the story from the demonstrations in Tahrir Square to the frontlines of the battle for Libya. It was a journey that would push Guy to his limits and almost cost him his life.
Don’s conversation with Guy has been split into two parts with both now available wherever you get your podcasts.
Joining the Dots was produced in association with Size?. Listen to Joining the Dots on acast, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to subscribe to get each new episode delivered straight to your feed.
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