Roger Ballen (nacido en Nueva York, Estados Unidos, 1950) es un fotógrafo estadounidense que vive en Johannesburgo, Sudáfrica, y trabaja en su entorno desde los años setenta. Su obra, desarrollada en un período de cuatro décadas, comenzó en el campo del documental, pero su enfoque se ha ampliado para permitir un diálogo visual ficticio entre los individuos, su espacio arquitectónico, objetos encontrados y animales domesticados. Su enfoque ha sido aclamado como uno de los desarrollos más inusuales y emocionantes de la fotografía contemporánea.
Aunque el trabajo de Ballen se describe a menudo como “oscuro“, él describe su fotografía como esencialmente psicológica, y habla de las imágenes que se refieren al “lado de la sombra” de la humanidad. Él dice: “La sombra es mejor que la oscuridad, porque la oscuridad para mucha gente conecta con el mal, y yo siempre digo que es todo lo contrario. […] Las imágenes no deben ser vistas como oscuras, y de todas formas no tengo bastante claro lo que es “oscuro”.
ENG: Roger Ballen is one of the most important and original art photographers working today. 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on a visual, chronological tour of the photographer’s entire oeuvre, including both the iconic images and previously unpublished works.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 Ballen himself, Ballenesque offers a distinctly personal account of the photographer’s career to date, including rare and privileged insights into Ballen’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.
