BALLEN, Roger (New York, 1950)Roger Ballen

Roger Ballen is one of the most important and influential photographers of the 21st century. His strange and extreme photographs confront viewers and challenge them to accompany the artist on a journey into their minds. About his work Ballen says: "People constantly compare me to Diane Arbus, but I think Samuel Beckett is the key influence in my work. My photographs evoke the absurdity of the human condition, but they are also testimonies of a personal psychological journey. For me, photography is a way of looking in the mirror". His books and catalogues include Boyhood. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1979; Dorps: Small Towns of South Africa. Cape Town: Hirt and Carter, 1986. Reprinted by Protea Boekhuis, 201; Platteland. London: Quartet, 1994; New York: St. Martin's, 1996; Cette Afrique là. Photo Poche series. Paris: Nathan, 1997; Outland. London: Phaidon, 2001; Expanded edition. Phaidon, 2015; Shadow Chamber. London: Phaidon, 2005; Animal Abstraction. Exhibition catalogue Galerie Alex Daniels, Amsterdam: Reflex, 2011; Appearances, Disappearances, Reappearances, Nazraeli Press, 2016; No Joke, Morel Book, 2016; The Rome Ballen Times. Rome: Punctum; Ballenesque: Roger Ballen, A Retrospective. London: Thames and Hudson, 2017; The World According to Roger Ballen. London, Thames and Hudson, 2020; Boyhood, Damiani, Bologna, 2022