Celebrate four decades of work by one of the world’s most remarkable and critically acclaimed art photographers. Why not join Roger Ballen celebrate his career as he takes you on a retrospective journey on Sunday (21 August). He will also be signing books after his talk.
Roger Ballen is one of the most important and original art photographers working today. He is best known for his probing, often challenging images that exist in a space between painting, drawing, installation and photography. Yet, until now, no comprehensive retrospective on this highly regarded artist has been released. Based on an entirely new appraisal of Ballen’s archive, one that looks beyond his monographic projects for the first time, Ballenesque takes the reader on a visual, chronological tour of the photographer’s entire oeuvre, including both the iconic images and previously unpublished works.
At the heart of the book is Ballen’s own exploration of his style – of those particular qualities that make his work so compellingly his own.
Featuring reflective and engaging texts by the artist himself, Ballenesque offers a distinctly personal account of the photographer’s career to date. His reflections include rare and privileged insights into the artist’s photographic practice and the major influences that have helped to shape his worldview.
Each of the key stages in Ballen’s creative journey is explored – a journey that, for Ballen, has been both an outward and inward exploration of the self. With over 300 photographs and an introduction by cultural theorist and critic Robert J. C. Young, Ballenesque provides not only an entirely new way of seeing Ballen’s work for those already familiar with his career but also a comprehensive introduction for those encountering his photographs for the first time.
In this second, revised edition, Thames and Hudson add two new chapters: one on Ballen’s colour photography, and another on his Covid Lockdown drawings.
Ballen was selected to show his works at the South African pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. South Africa’s national exhibition for Biennale Arte 2022 reflected the theme Into the Light which complements the overarching theme The Milk of Dreams.
Time: 12 noon
Venue: Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre, 1 Duncombe Road, Forest Town
Cost of the Ballenesque book: R1330, Jonathan Ball Publishers
RSVP: [email protected], 011-640-3100
