For almost two decades Roger Ballen, an American, has been photographing in the South African countryside, searching for aesthetic symbols to convey a sense of the place and the people. Platteland was born of the profound irony that despite the political privilege apartheid had bestowed on whites, in the physical heart of the land there is inescapable testimony to the failure of the regime even to secure the well-being of the privileged minority. Many of those people the photographer encounters feel strangled by poverty and preconception, rejected and downgraded. Above all else, most are severely alienated by the radical changes taking place in the society around them. In these powerful and riveting images, Roger Ballen penetrates a world that had previously been shrouded under the mantle of white supremacy. Ballen has photographed his subjects on their own terms, in the intimacy of their homes, with friends and family, and even their pets. The images, though devoid of excess, stripped to their essence, are deceptively simple.

Platteland: Images from Rural South Africa

Arts & Photography

BALLEN, Roger

Photography & Video

St Martins Pr

Roger Ballen Asylum of the Birds (Paperback) /anglais

Thames&Hudson

Ballenesque Roger Ballen: A Retrospective (Paperback) /anglais

An exploration of “the Ballenesque” over the four-decade-long career of this daring artist―representing an entirely fresh edit by Roger Ballen himself and featuring many previously unpublished images
Roger Ballen is best known for his psychologically powerful and intricately layered images that exist in a space between painting, drawing, installation, and photography. Ballenesque is the first comprehensive retrospective of his work.
Separated into four parts, Ballenesque takes readers on a chronological journey through Ballen’s entire oeuvre, including both iconic images and previously unpublished works. Part I explores Ballen’s formative artistic influences and his later rediscovery of boyhood through photography, culminating in his first published monograph, Boyhood, in 1979. Part II charts the period between 1980 and 2000, during which time he released his seminal monograph Outland. Part III covers the years 2000–2013, when Ballen achieved global recognition and his work began to veer away from portraiture altogether. Finally, in Part IV, Ballen reflects on his career.
With more than 300 photographs and an introduction by Robert JC Young, this book provides both a new way of seeing Ballen’s work for those who already follow his career and a comprehensive introduction for those encountering his striking photographs for the first time. 330 illustrations, in color and duotone

Ballenesque: Roger Ballen: A Retrospective

A masterful new monograph from one of the most revered and highly collectible contemporary art photographers in the world Roger Ballen is one of the most original image makers of the twenty-first century. Asylum of the Birds showcases his iconic photographs, which were all taken entirely within the confines of a house in a Johannesburg suburb, the location of which remains a tightly guarded secret. The inhabitants of the house, both people and animals, and most notably the ever-present birds, are the cast who perform within a sculptural and decorated theatrical interior that the author creates and orchestrates. The resulting images are compelling and dynamic, existing somewhere between still life and portrait. They are richly layered with graffiti, drawings, animals, and found objects. In a world where photographers seek to avoid definition, Roger Ballen is a true original who not only defies genres, but has defined his own artistic space as well. 90 duotone illustrations

Asylum of the Birds

Individual Artists

An immersive new monograph from the critically acclaimed photographer Roger Ballen
The Theatre of Apparitions is an immersive and groundbreaking new monograph by the critically acclaimed art photographer Roger Ballen.
The author of numerous publications, including Asylum of the Birds and Outland, 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 Ballenesque images take readers on a journey deep into the subconscious.
Initially inspired by the drawings and marks people make on their environment, 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 resulting images 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. Timeless and innovative, earthly and otherworldly, physical and spiritual, his work transcends the traditional concepts of photography. 90 black-and-white photographs

The Theatre of Apparitions

Ballenesque (Collector's Edition): Roger Ballen: A Retrospective /anglais

The first of Ballen\'s South African photo-essays and the book which established his reputation. For many years Roger Ballen an American has travelled widely throughout South Africa visiting its scattered towns and villages. During this time he has developed a unique vision toward little-known corners and artifacts trading stores old houses and humble people. Textured with time these photographs reveal the essence of these places.

Dorps: Small towns of South Africa

Biographies & Memoirs

Travelers & Explorers

Clifton Publications

Outland is the culmination of almost twenty years work for artist-photographer Roger Ballen and amounts to one of the most extraordinary photographic documents of the late twentieth century. Beginning by documenting the small 'dorps' or villages of rural South Africa, Ballen's photography moved on in the late 1980s and early 1990s to their inhabitants: isolated rural whites scarred by history, in the process of losing the privileges of apartheid which had provided them livelihoods and sustained their identity for a generation. The results were shocking, both powerful social statements and disturbing psychological studies. Through the late 1990s and into 2000, Ballen's work has progressed again. Continuing to portray whites on the fringe of South African society, his subjects begin to act. Where previously his pictures, however troubling, fell firmly into the category of documentary photography, his new work moves into the realms of fiction. Ballen's characters act out dark and discomforting tableaux, providing images which are exciting and disturbing in equal measure. One is forced to wonder whether they are exploited victims, colluding directly in their own ridicule, or newly empowered and active participants within the drama of their representation.

Outland

Phaidon Press

'Boarding House' captures an imaginary space of transient residence, of comings and goings, focusing on the evocative drawings and sculptural objects as well as the people and animals found there.

Roger Ballen: Boarding House

Travis, David

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