Roger Ballen is what you'd call a 'wound opener'.
Working with black and white film, Ballen’s photography sheds light on the darker side of the human self—a scab that most of us would perhaps rather leave untouched. His exhibition at Mona features work from his Asylum and Apparitions series, which incorporate photography, drawing, sculpture and a photographic drawing technique developed by Ballen himself. He describes his work as a fundamentally psychological and existential project; for him, making art is an exercise in tortured self-definition.
Curated by Olivier Varenne and Nicole Durling
Asylum (detail), 2013, Roger Ballen
Asylum (detail), 2013, Roger Ballen
Asylum (detail), 2013, Roger Ballen
Header image: Asylum (detail), 2013, Roger Ballen