Ship Wreck In Los Angeles. Cox's stunning photos at Metro Gallery

Born in the British port of Southampton, from where the SS TITANIC sailed, Cox grew up around ships. He witnessed the final departure of Cunard Line's beloved QUEEN MARY from Britain, along with 10,000 onlookers, waving good bye to the end of an era of transoceanic travel. His interest in ships and maritime research took off.

In new large scale color photographs shown at Metro Gallery, we view what the modern cruise line "guest" will see - from vast dining rooms, towering atria, and outdoor pools to stacks of soup bowls on the buffet and rows of salt sellers. In this exhibition of the contemporary maritime interiors, Cox subtly draws a parallel to archaeological documentation of ancient wrecks. The discovery of an ancient ship, sunken or buried, offers us a glimpse into the preoccupations of its contemporary culture. So it is with this archaeological gaze with which we begin to re-examine the contents and interior of a modern cruise ship.

In a startling contrast, Cox then moves beyond the ship as container of objects, as a marker of contemporary cultural preoccupations, to see the ship itself as an object with an economic life, and he follows this through to it's logical conclusion. Where do ships go when they reach the end their intended purpose? The beaches of India are where much of the world's "ship recycling" is done. These images, in contrast to the to stylish backdrop to the Caribbean cruise, shows us the anatomy of the vessel itself, as these vast man made machines are torn apart, dissected and scrapped, reduced to raw material. Gallery owner, David Freire says, "The images captured by Martin Cox examine the use of ships and vessels and how they have evolved from ocean liners to the modern-day cruise ship. The immigration experience once identified with these vessels, is completely different with how we currently regard cruise passengers. The images stir much emotion, curiosity and fascination."