Contemporary Documentary Photographer

Roger Ballen

1950 - Present

Born in New York City in 1950, Roger Ballen has lived and worked in Johannesburg, South Africa for almost 30 years. During this period from 1982 to 2008 he has produced many series of works which has evolved from photo-journalism to a unique artistic vision. This exhibition tracks the development of his style which has made an important contribution to the visual arts. Ballen's work has been shown in important institutions throughout the world and is represented in many Museum Collections such as Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England and Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.

 

For better or worse, one image more than any other has come to define South African photographer Roger Ballen - the photograph of adult twins Dresie and Casie taken in the Western Transvaal in 1993, an image distressing and unforgettable.

The twins have misshapen faces, necks as thick as bullocks', ears that protrude like chimps', bluntly cut spiky hair and prominent lower lips. Ballen has photographed them with a long thread of drool dangling from their blubbery mouths, their shirts wet and stained with dribble.

The image provokes an uncomfortable rush of thoughts and emotions: curiosity about the twins' genetic make-up, intrigue about their story, concern that someone could so brutally point the camera and shoot - did the twins understand the ramifications of that moment?

 

Published books

• Boarding House, 2009
• Shadow Chamber, 2005
• Fact or Fiction, 2003
• Outland, 2001
• Cette Afrique', 1997
• Platteland, 1996
• Dorps: Small towns of South Africa, Clifton Publications; 1st ed edition (1986)
• Boyhood, 1979

 

Quotes

"My goals have never really been to make overt political statements. The most important political statement I could make would be to change a person's psychological interior, or to change their relationship to themselves. My work has always been primarily existential and psychological," he says.

Sourced From:-

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/arts/what-are-you-looking-at/2009/09/25/1253813608962.html

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