Step inside the mind of photographer Roger Ballen, as he takes you into the belly of his creative conscious in this new TateShots interview.
Roger Ballen began his career as a geologist working in small towns around South Africa. This is when he first picked up a camera and began entering the homes of the town’s inhabitants and where Roger truly found his style. Reflecting the political unrest of the country at the time, Roger used a mixture of objects found in his subjects homes to create metaphors for the inner mind.
From the early 2000’s Roger stopped including faces in his work as he began to integrate sculpture and drawings into his work.
Ninja, of Die Antwoord fame, actually references Roger’s book Outland and Shadow Chamber as being the influence for the creation of world-famous musical duo Die Antwoord. You may recognise Roger’s work from Die Antwoord’s 2012 video release ” I Fink You Freeky ” this collaboration was the catalyst for Roger going on to include video with all of his series.
Through all of his work Roger’s focus is on getting to the bottom of what is real and unreal, a true inverted look at his subjects and the world around him.
Go on a journey with Roger Ballen deep inside the Earth’s core to explore the show side of the mind with TateShots.
For more of Roger’s striking work follow him on Facebook, Instagram and have a look at his website for more inspiration.
