ǀ Ratatouille was yesterday ǀ Under the sign of the rat Surreal, refined, disturbing: Roger Ballen has made a name for himself with his special eye for what is usually considered minor or outside, yet is nevertheless profound and touching. In his hands, the documentary power of the camera merges with the ingenious power of his imagination to look into a person’s soul and get under the viewer’s skin. Elaborately produced between 2015 and 2020, his new project is called Roger the Rat. In oppressively sharp black-and-white shots, he follows the life of a creature whose body appears human, but who has the head of a rat. Picture after picture, we witness scenes that—deconstructed and wrested from everyday gestures—reveal the suppressed aspects of human existence. The catalogue presents the cycle of paintings as an impressive show that keeps the reader reflecting long after the last page. ROGER BALLEN (*1950, New York City) lives in Johannesburg. His artistic career is underpinned by studies in psychology, geology, and mineral economics. His “Ballenesque” photographs and films have not only been celebrated in numerous major museums, but have also been the subject of many book projects, most recently, The World According to Roger Ballen.weiterlesen