Shadow Land: Photographs by Roger Ballen 1983-2011

Friday 30 March 2012 - Sunday 13 May 2012

Manchester Art Gallery

"Shadow Land is a major exhibition of work by internationally-acclaimed photographer Roger Ballen whose work offers a powerful social critique and an extreme, uncanny beauty. The exhibition explores three decades of Ballen’s career, charting the evolution of his unique photographic style and demonstrating the contribution he has made to contemporary photography.

For over 30 years he has lived and worked in South Africa. In his work from the early 1980s to mid 90s he gained world recognition and critical acclaim with his powerful and controversial images of those living on the margins of South African society.

Although retaining the same distinctive aesthetic, (all his work is in black and white, square format) in the last decade Ballen’s work has evolved into a style he describes as ‘documentary fiction’ where the line between reality and fantasy is deliberately blurred. In doing so, his work enters into a new realm of photography; the images are painterly and sculptural in ways not immediately associated with photography". Extract from the City Art Gallery web site.

Image Twirling Wires, 2001, Roger Ballen
All, Courtesy of the artist and Hamilton’s Gallery, London.

"Fans of Ballen’s work will be interested in his recent collaboration with Die Antwoord, a futuristic rap-rave crew from South Africa who represent a new style called Zef. Ballen’s photography has had a formative influence on the band and led to him directing their latest video I fink u freeky poised to be a viral sensation and introduce Ballen’s work to an entirely new audience".

Still frame from the video of Die Antwood,  performing Zef style rap.

This artist has a vision that is so unlike the "norm". On first viewing it is shocking, cruel and voyeuristic. Look again and the images seem more poetic, strong and beautiful.  It is a harsh beauty, but so powerful.  The video is manic, scary and defiant.  A taste of anarchy and very outsider art in feel. There is some interesting creative stuff being done in South Africa at the moment.  Nerd alert, The Happy Mondays,  "He's Gonna Step On You Again" (aka "Step On") was  performed in 1971, by John Kongos in South Africa.