The series offers a glimpse into the complexity of human existence and invites reflection on questions of identity, masculinity, and the transience of life
'Abyssal Black Figures' is a compelling series that invites to slow down. It invites the viewer to look beyond the darkness and find meaning in the subtle interplay of light, texture, and human gestures.
A fusion of photography and abstract gesture. ‘Les Mannequins – Paint Version’ reimagines the artificial human form through a lens of high-contrast noir and aggressive brushwork. By obscuring and highlighting these plastic silhouettes, the series uncovers a hidden life within the inanimate—turning the commercial into the visceral.
Specials
Birds, rats, bodies, rooms, scratches, masks; real or not real?
Les Mannequins Paint Version
This is the world of Roger Ballen. This is where the Ballenesque theater takes place, and the audience joins in at the invitation. The scenes are confusing, familiar, tangible, absurd, alluring, impossible—yet real. They draw you beneath the surface, into the cracks and crevices of your own inner world. Roger Ballen isn’t searching; he—we—are the search.
Entering the exhibition is like wandering through the psyche. You waver between delusion and reality, the conscious and the unconscious, harmony and chaos.
Don’t try to make sense of what you see. Understand it completely. See it all.