Roger Ballen – Spirits and Spaces

The 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.

Having 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. Spirits and Spaces 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.

The new colour images in Spirits and Spaces, 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.

Both a visual revelation and an artistic evolution by one of contemporary photography’s most unique voices, Spirits and Spaces is an essential and much anticipated photobook for all Roger Ballen fans.