Exhibition "DEVIR-ANIMAL" by Roger Ballen

From Venice to São Paulo: Roger Ballen exhibits "Devir-Animal" at Galeria Lume 

Photos by the American artist, who is at the Venice Biennale 2022, connect the real and the fantasy 

The universe that makes up "Devir-Animal", on show from July 19 until September 10 at Lume Gallery, mixes two photographic series with a hybrid aesthetic invented by Roger Ballen and results in 13 exhibited works . The artist, who this year is participating in the South African pavilion at the 59th Venice International Biennale, has developed an idiosyncratic style called "Ballenesque", which features the use of elaborate installations together with elements such as drawing, photography, painting, collage, theatre and sculptural techniques.

The choice of black and white photographs alludes to the world of the human psyche: disturbing, provocative and enigmatic. It aims to break through repressed thoughts and feelings, wrapped in themes of chaos and order; madness or undisciplined states of being; the human relationship with the animal world; life and death; universal archetypes of the psyche and experiences of otherness. Where it makes room for the human to be confused with the animal, for the human to return to being an animal. 

"Animals permeate my spaces. Cats, dogs, rats, chickens, snakes and more. Dead and alive, big and small, wild and tame. Wherever you look, they are there. They appear in places to which they hardly belong. You cannot escape from the animal. You cannot escape from the animal. The animal is inside us, deep inside. We come from the animal". comments the artist, Roger Ballen.

In the photographs of the series Shadow Chamber (from English, "Shadow Chamber"), the striking and ambiguous images mix animals, people and objects placed in mysterious cell-like rooms, occupying the grey area between fact and fiction, blurring the boundaries between documentary photography and art forms such as painting, theatre and sculpture. The artist represents the documentary-fiction: he describes his works as "existential psychodramas that touch the subconscious and evoke the entrails of the human condition". 

About Roger Ballen 

Roger Ballen was born in New York, USA, in 1950; but for over 30 years he has lived and worked in Johannesburg, South Africa. His output spans five decades - began in the field of documentary photography, but has evolved to create distinct fictional domains that also integrate the mediums of film, installation, theatre, sculpture, painting and drawing. He is one of the most influential photographic artists of the 21st century. His works confront the viewer and challenge them to accompany him on a journey through strange and extreme places.

At the beginning of his career, his work in his field of training, as a geologist, took him to the interior of Africa with his camera. So he began by photographing the empty streets under the glare of the midday sun. But after knocking on people's doors, he discovered a world inside their homes, which would have a profound effect on his work. These interiors, with their distinct collections of objects and their occupants, led his research from social criticism to the creation of metaphors for the human psyche. Today, his research is recognised in the field of "documentary fiction". 

Ballen's work has been exhibited in the world's greatest museums, and includes collections such as the Getty Museum (Los Angeles, California), MOMA (New York), Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris), Tate Britain (London), among others. He has published over 25 books internationally. His works are exhibited in more than 50 of the most important international international museum collections. During the fall of 2022, Thames and Hudson will release a second volume of the book "Ballenesque Roger Ballen: A Retrospective". He is one of the artists currently representing South Africa at the 59th Venice International Biennale in 2022 in Italy.

About Galeria Lume

Lume Gallery was founded in 2011 with the proposal to foster the development of contemporary creative processes alongside its artists and guest curators. Directed by Paulo Kassab Jr. and Victoria Zuffo, Lume is dedicated to breaking boundaries between different disciplines and languages, through a unique and bold model that reinforces the role of São Paulo as a cultural hub and city in frank creative effervescence. 

The gallery represents a select group of established and emerging artists, dedicated to the introduction of art in all its media, aimed at a national and international audience, through a plural exhibition program associated with ideas that inspire and drive the discussion of the spirit of the times. It also focuses on the dialogue between the production of its artists and relevant institutions, museums and collections. 

The gallery's active and organic presence on the art circuit has resulted in the diffusion of its proposals among the most important art fairs of the present time, as well as integrating and accompanying alternative fairs. The gallery bets on the production of publications of their artists and the production of material for research and registration. Likewise, the Lume is available as a space for reflection and discussion. Receives lectures, performances, seminars and artistic presentations of diverse nature. 

Service 

DEVIR-ANIMAL by Roger Ballen 

Curatorial text: Paulo Kassab Jr.

Venue: Lume Gallery, exhibition room II 

Opening event: 19 July, from 7pm to 10pm 

Exhibition period: 19 July to 10 September 

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, from 10am to 7pm, and Saturday from 11am to 3pm 

Address: Rua Gumercindo Saraiva, 54 - Jardim Europa, São Paulo (SP) 

Free entry  

Informações para o público: (55) 11 4883-0351 e contato@galerialume.com 
https://www.instagram.com/galerialume/