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Roger Ballen's 'Boarding House' in Sydney

Roger Ballen at Stills Gallery

Similar to his critically acclaimed series 'Outland' and 'Shadow Chamber', Roger Ballen's 'Boarding House' is a journey of discovery in which we leave our ordinary selves behind and confront a primitive part of the human condition and its psyche. Whether the place is real or imaginary is both indecipherable and irrelevant. It is a place where Ballen's subconscious and the viewer's inhibitions can meet.

'Boarding House' is Ballen's most formally sophisticated work to date. The tableaux have a greater emphasis on drawn and sculptural elements, and the sense of collaboration between the artist and his subjects is increasingly relevant. He depicts a space of transient residence, of comings and goings, of people sheltered in a place they are using for their immediate survival. The altered sense of place of this temporary abode creates a sense of alienation, which acts as a jumping off point for the imagination to run wild.

21 April 2010 - 29 May 2010