Rodger Ballen has lived and worked in Johannesburg for over thirty years. From 1982–2008 he produced eight publications, documenting the evolution of his methodology from photojournalism into a unique oeuvre.
Animals have been an essential and exploratory enquiry throughout his work. His latest book, Asylum of the Birds published in 2014, was shot entirely within the confines of an undisclosed house in a Johannesburg suburb. The inhabitants of the house, both people and animals, and most notably the ever-present birds, become a cast of performers orchestrated by Ballen.
Ballen’s work has been shown throughout the world and is represented in various museum collections such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK; and the Stedelijk Museum, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He has been exhibited internationally with solo presentations at Atlas Sztuki in Lodz, Poland; the Moscow Media Centre in Moscow, Russia; and the Museu Oscar Niemeyer in Curitiba, Brazil. Upcoming solo exhibitions in 2015 include the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC) in Santiago, Chile.
