Roger Ballen generously took the time to speak with me via Zoom from South Africa. It was truly an honor to interview him as I have been a fan of his for a long time. His work reaches into the psyche, it is deeply disturbing while also embracing the absurd. He depicts, constructs, and documents interiors, creating existential psychological dramas of people and animals that live on the edges of life, where we can experience through his art our alienation from the natural world. For me his work reaches into my dreams and speaks to my deep fears for the future of our planet while provoking the viewer to see the many layers of human existence. But I also feel humanity and hope when looking into his many layered photographs. Roger Ballen’s works span over 50 years. I highly recommend his recent book Ballenesque – A Retrospective – if you are interested in an in-depth overview of Roger Ballen’s work and what drives him to create his world in photography, films, and installations.
