“An element of my own loneliness exists in the photos of Joseph. A good photographic portrait always captures two people; the subject & the person taking the picture.”?- Martin Usborne

86½ years is an immersive journey into a world shared by two unlikely strangers that changed each others lives.

Joseph Markovitch was a man that lived in London for 86½ years. He left only once to go to the seaside with his mother, loved Nicolas Cage, had five sugars in his tea & would have married a 6ft Hispanic woman if given the chance.

Martin Usborne is a photographer that spent 2 years documenting Joe’s life, capturing his portraits, recording his thoughts & experiencing Joe’s wonderful world filled with imagination.

On the year that Joe would’ve turned 90 years old, we invite you to step into the world that Joseph & Martin both shared, experiencing it through their eyes.

Sometimes, a story is just as important as the person that tells it.

Based on the successful & heartbreakingly beautiful photography book by the same name, 86½ years not only allows you to step into Joe’s imagination first-hand, it allows you to see him through Martin’s eyes.

We set out to create an experience that captured the purity & authenticity of the original book, but we wanted to bring it to life in a completely new & immersive way.

The experience is centred around a dual narrative that draws the viewer into a story of parallels, taking you on a journey into Joe’s life & also hearing how Joe changed Martin’s.

The fully immersive site combines eye tracking technology, beautiful interactions, image augmentation & original sound design to draw you into the world that Joe & Martin both shared.

Viewers browse by closing their eyes & stepping into Joe’s imagination. They hear his thoughts, see his portraits come to life, and hear about Joe & Martin’s relationship from the man who introduced the world to Joe.

As with the book, chapters being standalone & none-linear means the viewer can move through the experience freely, but unlike the book they get to interact in a completely unique way, bringing you closer to the story than ever.

Every element of the experience was designed, written, built, recorded, shot and composed in East London, where Joe was born, raised and lived his whole life.

Recorded on an local stand up piano; the music was composed to represent the conversation that took place between Joe & Martin. Ambient sounds where also captured in the exact locations that the photographs were taken.

From concept through to submission this project took 11 weeks to create, but it’s a story that’s been 90 years in the making.