Roger Ballen: The Theatre of Apparitions
Roger Ballen
Thames & Hudson, 2016
€35,00
The Theatre of Apparitions is an immersive and groundbreaking new monograph by the critically acclaimed art Roger Ballen is best known for his psychologically powerful and intricately layered images that exist in a space between painting, drawing, installation and photography.
The Theatre of Apparitions is both a departure from his existing oeuvre and the culmination of his unique aesthetic linking image-making and theatrical performance. Separated into seven chapters or ‘acts’, with each one introduced by a text written by the photographer, these ‘Ballenesque’ images take readers on a journey deep into their subconscious.
Initially inspired by blacked-out windows seen in an abandoned women’s prison, Ballen started to experiment using different spray paints on glass and then ‘drawing on’ or removing the paint with a sharp object to let natural light through. The resulting images are like prehistoric cave-paintings: the black, dimensionless spaces on the glass are canvases onto which Ballen carves his thoughts and emotions. Fossil-like facial forms and dismembered body parts co-exist uncomfortably with vaporous, ghost-like shadows – these images have the capacity to shock, inspire, amuse and even elate viewers.
ISBN: 9780500544648
