{"title":"Roger Ballen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRoger Ballen\u003c\/strong\u003e offers a compelling journey through the dark and enigmatic realms of contemporary photography. His works, such as \u003cem\u003eAsylum of the Birds\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Theatre of Apparitions\u003c\/em\u003e, explore surreal and often unsettling visual narratives that challenge conventional perspectives on space and human presence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDelving into themes of isolation, identity, and the subconscious, Ballen’s books merge raw imagery with profound artistic expression. Readers interested in arts and culture will find his visual storytelling both provocative and immersive, revealing a world shaped by imagination and stark reality.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"roger-ballen-spirits-and-spaces-by-roger-ballen-9780500028926","title":"Roger Ballen – Spirits and Spaces","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe first monograph to present Roger Ballen's work in colour: a visual revelation that remains grounded in the chaotic, absurd psychological space of the Ballenesque.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHaving previously expressed no interest in colour photography, Roger Ballen was inspired to engage with the medium after receiving a Leica SL camera as a gift in 2016. Opening up to the potential of colour in his work, Ballen used light in creative ways, exploring new avenues of experimentation. \u003ci\u003eSpirits and Spaces\u003c\/i\u003e eloquently captures the absurd and bizarre world of Roger Ballen, where animals and Art Brut-like drawings dominate, and humanity is reduced to obscure figures or fragmented body parts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe new colour images in \u003ci\u003eSpirits and Spaces\u003c\/i\u003e, created in conjunction with Ballen's artistic director, Marguerite Rossouw, were produced in a claustrophobic space, constructed of worn, wallpapered wooden panels and with minimalistic lighting. Here, in this dense, oppressive environment, Ballen creates what might be seen by many as a world that is unexplainable in words: one in which absurdity, chaos, comedy and tragedy apparently exist side by side.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBoth a visual revelation and an artistic evolution by one of contemporary photography's most unique voices, \u003ci\u003eSpirits and Spaces\u003c\/i\u003e is an essential and much anticipated photobook for all Roger Ballen fans.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47341061767404,"sku":"9780500028926","price":100.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1c3f50c805fa8d1dd1e1fa818ef57974.jpg?v=1772190194"},{"product_id":"the-theatre-of-apparitions-by-roger-ballen-9780500544648","title":"The Theatre of Apparitions","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith a career spanning over four decades, Roger Ballen is best known for his psychologically powerful and masterfully composed images that exist in a space between painting, drawing, installation, and photography. This book 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', these \u003cem\u003eBallenesque\u003c\/em\u003e images take readers on a journey deep into their subconscious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInspired by the sight of hand-drawn carvings on blacked-out windows 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 results 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTimeless and innovative, earthly and otherworldly, physical and spiritual, his work transcends all traditional concepts of photography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47428330488044,"sku":"9780500544648","price":60.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780500544648.jpg?v=1774477606"},{"product_id":"asylum-of-the-birds-by-roger-ballen-9780500294864","title":"Asylum of the Birds","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a world in which many photographers seek to avoid definition, Roger Ballen's photographs define themselves in their defiance of classification and genre: his world stands out as one of a kind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe black-and-white images featured in \u003cem\u003eAsylum of the Birds\u003c\/em\u003e were created exclusively within the confines of a house in a Johannesburg suburb, the location of which remains a guarded secret.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe inhabitants of the house, both human and animal—including, most notably, the ever-present birds—are the cast of Ballen's world, performers amidst the theatrical interiors that they create and he orchestrates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe resulting images exist in a space between painting, drawing, installation and photography. They are timeless, psychologically powerful and masterfully composed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47430086426860,"sku":"9780500294864","price":60.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780500294864.jpg?v=1774559773"},{"product_id":"the-world-according-to-roger-ballen-by-roger-ballen-9780500545218","title":"The World According to Roger Ballen","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe World According to Roger Ballen\u003c\/em\u003e, co-authored with Colin Rhodes, delves into Ballen's career within the broader cultural context beyond photography, highlighting his connections with and collections of Art Brut. The book features a selection of photographs from across Ballen's career, alongside installations created exclusively for the exhibition at Halle Saint Pierre, as well as photographs of objects and works from Ballen's own collection of Art Brut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOrganized thematically, and featuring texts by Colin Rhodes, as well as an introduction and interview with Ballen by Martine Lusardy (the Director of the Halle Saint Pierre), \u003cem\u003eThe World According to Roger Ballen\u003c\/em\u003e serves as both a catalogue for the first major exhibition of Ballen's work in France, and an exploration of his positioning within and connections to the wider context of modern and contemporary art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47433125134572,"sku":"9780500545218","price":85.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780500545218.jpg?v=1774765551"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/roger-ballen.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}