KYOTOGRAPHIE Traveling Exhibition｜Roger Ballen

Roger Ballen

Shadowland 1969–2014

Disclosing the dark side of human life and society is one of the vital tasks to have been addressed by photographic expression. Roger Ballen (born 1950, New York City) is doubtlessly one of the most important protagonists of this process. Since relocating to South Africa in the 1970s, Ballen has dealt with the themes of discrimination and poverty, both before and after the abolition of apartheid. Over time, his creative approach has undergone an inimitable evolution from an initial documentary style to orchestrated image-making based on photographic compositions employing a range of directorial techniques.
Recently, Ballen collaborated with rap group Die Antwoord—a leading force in the “Zef” counterculture that has sprung from South Africa’s poor white population—to make the music video I Fink U Freeky. Viewed more than 50 million times on YouTube, this piece has resonated globally with its idiosyncratic style mocking mainstream values and conceptions of beauty.
The “Shadowland” in the title of this exhibition—Ballen’s much anticipated first show in Japan— is also the title of one of his previous collections; according to Ballen himself, Shadowland “could be defined as a place between reality and fiction, the conscious mind and subconscious, a place of the mind that remains mysterious and dreamlike.” Alongside a retrospective that highlights Shadowland and his other works to date, the show features his Asylum of the Birds photographic collection, published by Thames and Hudson in April last year.
To coincide with the photographic exhibition, COMME des GARÇONS’ Kyoto store will be projecting video from Ballen’s Outland series in the store. At this year’s Paris Menswear Fashion Week, the COMME des GARÇONS Homme Plus 2015 fall-winter collection featured models wearing jackets with images from Asylum of the Birds printed on the back. It was generally agreed that the theme of the collection, “The Power of Ceremony,” found a strong reflection in the powerful images of animal carcasses, ubiquitous birds, and other motifs used in Ballen’s work.

It is made possible with the generous support of the artist and our sponsors.
KYOTOGRAPHIE has the Asian touring rights.

Read More:
http://www.rogerballen.com/