The magazine of the photo-essay
Aug 2016 back issue
by Roger Ballen
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Asylum of the Birds is a new body of work by Roger Ballen, one of the
most original image-makers of our times. Ballen has always sought to
push the boundaries of photographic practice and has created an
aesthetic and artistic vision unlike any other contemporary photographer.
The images in Asylum of the Birds have been photographed entirely within
the confines of a house in a Johannesburg suburb, the location of which
remains a tightly guarded secret. The inhabitants of the house, both people
and animals, and most notably the ever-present birds, are the cast who
perform within a sculptural and decorated theatrical interior that Ballen
creates and orchestrates. The resulting images are painterly, complex and
surreal. They are richly layered with graffiti, drawings, animals and found
objects.
In a world where photographers seek to avoid definition, and whose work is
often banal, Ballen is a true original who not only defies genres, but has
defined his own artistic space as well.
Alter Ego 2010.
Altercation 2012.
Ambience 2006.
Ambushed 2010.
Artist 2013.
Ascension 2013.
Assimilated 2004.
Bereaved 2012.
Liberation 2011.
Malicious 2012.
Seduction 2012.
Slithering 2012.
Take off 2012.
Transformation 2004.
White Eye 2011.