I need you more than you need me from the series What Photography & Incarceration have in Common with an Empty Vase I need you more than you need me - View 1

This installation comprises a mixture of historical archive photographs sourced by the artist as well as personal photographs donated by the inmates and families Martins interacted with. The book that supports the visual work is a facsimile copy of an inmate’s diary, which the artist intervened on, and which was written especially for this project.

Martins forged a close friendship with the inmate that wrote this journal. He visited him over two years, in his cell, during family days and during legal visits. Legal visits are normally only attended by inmates’ legal representatives but HMP Birmingham enabled the artist to make use of this facility so he could spend one-on-one time with the inmate in question. This enabled Martins to share the work he was producing with him and edit the diary.