Opening: Fusions - Work by Kevin Hinkle/Ellen Martin

Ellen Martin is an iPhone photographer and curator. Kevin Hinkle is a photographer and digital artist. They have been creating fused images since 2018. The year 2018 also marked the beginning of her “Abandoned” series, which became the foundation for their first series of fusions.

As a curator, Ellen admired Kevin’s photographic fusions, showing them in exhibitions in 2018 and 2020. Ms. Martin asked Mr. Hinkle if he would like to use her photographs as the basis for his fusion technique. He said yes.

This was Mr. Hinkle’s first experience working with a series of photos from another artist. Without any limitations imposed, he began experimenting with a variety of his photographs to layer with Ms. Martin’s. Initially, Mr. Hinkle selected moody, haunting images that emphasized Ellen's theme of abandonment. Over time, he gravitated toward a range of styles, from minimalist to lush, which were less tied to the concept of abandonment and more focused on fusions he found aesthetically pleasing (whether due to a specific graphic quality or color).

Ms. Martin’s “Dead Roses” series was their second collaboration. Ms. Martin received roses as a birthday gift. She appreciated their beauty while fresh in the vase, but found them even more beautiful as they decayed. Kevin remarked about these dried flower-based works, "I see them as dramatizing the natural cycles of renewal and decay through the combination of three-dimensional objects. They simultaneously extend life in unexpected ways while emphasizing the precarious state of the natural world."

In June 2025, the team created a new series of photographs. Photos of flowers by both Kevin Hinkle and Ellen Martin were layered with geometric shapes.

“Governed by laws, nature is filled with countless examples of geometric forms, ranging from snowflake fractals to seashell spirals to the radial symmetry of flowers. Despite this, nature often seems unpredictable.

“By layering geometric shapes over flowers, we impose form on what appears chaotic while simultaneously drawing attention to the underlying order. We recognize that we need geometry’s lines, planes, and shapes to create art. In this series, we bring geometry to the forefront, whereas it typically resides in hidden architecture. Furthermore, the combination of the softness of flowers with the strictness of geometry creates interesting visual dynamics. "It shows the tension between our lives and the world," explained Kevin.

Both Mr. Hinkle and Ms. Martin have separate practices that they find completely fulfilling. "It was a pleasure to engage in this type of collaboration because it incorporates two points of view. Making fusions evolved my art practice, and I expect this collaborative process with Ellen to have a similar effect,” says Kevin. “I always say that Kevin makes the magic happen – he has the last word in our collaborations, and I always look forward to seeing what he will do,” says Ellen.

Host or Publisher Ellen Martin