• R O G E R - B A L L E N ’ S - A S Y L U M - O F - T H E  - B I R D STo run alongside the release of his new book Asylum of the Birds, Roger Ballen has released a documentary short filmed in collaboration with director Ben Crossman. Aside from his work with famed South African outfit Die Antwoord, this is Ballen’s only other video offering from a career spanning 50 years as a photographer. Asylum of the Birds gives the viewer a thorough look into the method behind the visual madness of Ballen’s photographs. The video shows Ballen and Crossman traversing squatters’ camps, mine dumps and abandoned fields in order to reach a shanty town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The corrugated iron structures act as a home and a cage to refugees, escaped mental patients and run away prisoners, as well as a Noah’s arc of animals. Ballen talks about collecting ephemera for his own photographs from pawn shops and witch doctors, as well as odds and ends for those in need, a testament to his lengthy relationship with the people he photographs. Marred with symbols and chaotically cluttered, the Asylum itself looks as though it was designed for the photographer, preexisting Ballen’s use of it. Ballen notes “When I create photographs I’ll often travel deep into my own interior, a place where dreams and many of my images originate. I see my photographs as mirrors, reflectors, connectors that challenge the mind”Ballen’s mind, not always being a place of comfort, should be no deterrent to viewing this work. Asylum of the Birds is an incredible addition to his photographic narrative.Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen is published by Thames & Hudson.
  • R O G E R - B A L L E N ’ S - A S Y L U M - O F - T H E  - B I R D STo run alongside the release of his new book Asylum of the Birds, Roger Ballen has released a documentary short filmed in collaboration with director Ben Crossman. Aside from his work with famed South African outfit Die Antwoord, this is Ballen’s only other video offering from a career spanning 50 years as a photographer. Asylum of the Birds gives the viewer a thorough look into the method behind the visual madness of Ballen’s photographs. The video shows Ballen and Crossman traversing squatters’ camps, mine dumps and abandoned fields in order to reach a shanty town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The corrugated iron structures act as a home and a cage to refugees, escaped mental patients and run away prisoners, as well as a Noah’s arc of animals. Ballen talks about collecting ephemera for his own photographs from pawn shops and witch doctors, as well as odds and ends for those in need, a testament to his lengthy relationship with the people he photographs. Marred with symbols and chaotically cluttered, the Asylum itself looks as though it was designed for the photographer, preexisting Ballen’s use of it. Ballen notes “When I create photographs I’ll often travel deep into my own interior, a place where dreams and many of my images originate. I see my photographs as mirrors, reflectors, connectors that challenge the mind”Ballen’s mind, not always being a place of comfort, should be no deterrent to viewing this work. Asylum of the Birds is an incredible addition to his photographic narrative.Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen is published by Thames & Hudson.
  • R O G E R - B A L L E N ’ S - A S Y L U M - O F - T H E  - B I R D STo run alongside the release of his new book Asylum of the Birds, Roger Ballen has released a documentary short filmed in collaboration with director Ben Crossman. Aside from his work with famed South African outfit Die Antwoord, this is Ballen’s only other video offering from a career spanning 50 years as a photographer. Asylum of the Birds gives the viewer a thorough look into the method behind the visual madness of Ballen’s photographs. The video shows Ballen and Crossman traversing squatters’ camps, mine dumps and abandoned fields in order to reach a shanty town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The corrugated iron structures act as a home and a cage to refugees, escaped mental patients and run away prisoners, as well as a Noah’s arc of animals. Ballen talks about collecting ephemera for his own photographs from pawn shops and witch doctors, as well as odds and ends for those in need, a testament to his lengthy relationship with the people he photographs. Marred with symbols and chaotically cluttered, the Asylum itself looks as though it was designed for the photographer, preexisting Ballen’s use of it. Ballen notes “When I create photographs I’ll often travel deep into my own interior, a place where dreams and many of my images originate. I see my photographs as mirrors, reflectors, connectors that challenge the mind”Ballen’s mind, not always being a place of comfort, should be no deterrent to viewing this work. Asylum of the Birds is an incredible addition to his photographic narrative.Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen is published by Thames & Hudson.
  • R O G E R - B A L L E N ’ S - A S Y L U M - O F - T H E  - B I R D STo run alongside the release of his new book Asylum of the Birds, Roger Ballen has released a documentary short filmed in collaboration with director Ben Crossman. Aside from his work with famed South African outfit Die Antwoord, this is Ballen’s only other video offering from a career spanning 50 years as a photographer. Asylum of the Birds gives the viewer a thorough look into the method behind the visual madness of Ballen’s photographs. The video shows Ballen and Crossman traversing squatters’ camps, mine dumps and abandoned fields in order to reach a shanty town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The corrugated iron structures act as a home and a cage to refugees, escaped mental patients and run away prisoners, as well as a Noah’s arc of animals. Ballen talks about collecting ephemera for his own photographs from pawn shops and witch doctors, as well as odds and ends for those in need, a testament to his lengthy relationship with the people he photographs. Marred with symbols and chaotically cluttered, the Asylum itself looks as though it was designed for the photographer, preexisting Ballen’s use of it. Ballen notes “When I create photographs I’ll often travel deep into my own interior, a place where dreams and many of my images originate. I see my photographs as mirrors, reflectors, connectors that challenge the mind”Ballen’s mind, not always being a place of comfort, should be no deterrent to viewing this work. Asylum of the Birds is an incredible addition to his photographic narrative.Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen is published by Thames & Hudson.
  • R O G E R - B A L L E N ’ S - A S Y L U M - O F - T H E  - B I R D STo run alongside the release of his new book Asylum of the Birds, Roger Ballen has released a documentary short filmed in collaboration with director Ben Crossman. Aside from his work with famed South African outfit Die Antwoord, this is Ballen’s only other video offering from a career spanning 50 years as a photographer. Asylum of the Birds gives the viewer a thorough look into the method behind the visual madness of Ballen’s photographs. The video shows Ballen and Crossman traversing squatters’ camps, mine dumps and abandoned fields in order to reach a shanty town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The corrugated iron structures act as a home and a cage to refugees, escaped mental patients and run away prisoners, as well as a Noah’s arc of animals. Ballen talks about collecting ephemera for his own photographs from pawn shops and witch doctors, as well as odds and ends for those in need, a testament to his lengthy relationship with the people he photographs. Marred with symbols and chaotically cluttered, the Asylum itself looks as though it was designed for the photographer, preexisting Ballen’s use of it. Ballen notes “When I create photographs I’ll often travel deep into my own interior, a place where dreams and many of my images originate. I see my photographs as mirrors, reflectors, connectors that challenge the mind”Ballen’s mind, not always being a place of comfort, should be no deterrent to viewing this work. Asylum of the Birds is an incredible addition to his photographic narrative.Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen is published by Thames & Hudson.
  • R O G E R - B A L L E N ’ S - A S Y L U M - O F - T H E  - B I R D STo run alongside the release of his new book Asylum of the Birds, Roger Ballen has released a documentary short filmed in collaboration with director Ben Crossman. Aside from his work with famed South African outfit Die Antwoord, this is Ballen’s only other video offering from a career spanning 50 years as a photographer. Asylum of the Birds gives the viewer a thorough look into the method behind the visual madness of Ballen’s photographs. The video shows Ballen and Crossman traversing squatters’ camps, mine dumps and abandoned fields in order to reach a shanty town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The corrugated iron structures act as a home and a cage to refugees, escaped mental patients and run away prisoners, as well as a Noah’s arc of animals. Ballen talks about collecting ephemera for his own photographs from pawn shops and witch doctors, as well as odds and ends for those in need, a testament to his lengthy relationship with the people he photographs. Marred with symbols and chaotically cluttered, the Asylum itself looks as though it was designed for the photographer, preexisting Ballen’s use of it. Ballen notes “When I create photographs I’ll often travel deep into my own interior, a place where dreams and many of my images originate. I see my photographs as mirrors, reflectors, connectors that challenge the mind”Ballen’s mind, not always being a place of comfort, should be no deterrent to viewing this work. Asylum of the Birds is an incredible addition to his photographic narrative.Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen is published by Thames & Hudson.
  • R O G E R - B A L L E N ’ S - A S Y L U M - O F - T H E  - B I R D STo run alongside the release of his new book Asylum of the Birds, Roger Ballen has released a documentary short filmed in collaboration with director Ben Crossman. Aside from his work with famed South African outfit Die Antwoord, this is Ballen’s only other video offering from a career spanning 50 years as a photographer. Asylum of the Birds gives the viewer a thorough look into the method behind the visual madness of Ballen’s photographs. The video shows Ballen and Crossman traversing squatters’ camps, mine dumps and abandoned fields in order to reach a shanty town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The corrugated iron structures act as a home and a cage to refugees, escaped mental patients and run away prisoners, as well as a Noah’s arc of animals. Ballen talks about collecting ephemera for his own photographs from pawn shops and witch doctors, as well as odds and ends for those in need, a testament to his lengthy relationship with the people he photographs. Marred with symbols and chaotically cluttered, the Asylum itself looks as though it was designed for the photographer, preexisting Ballen’s use of it. Ballen notes “When I create photographs I’ll often travel deep into my own interior, a place where dreams and many of my images originate. I see my photographs as mirrors, reflectors, connectors that challenge the mind”Ballen’s mind, not always being a place of comfort, should be no deterrent to viewing this work. Asylum of the Birds is an incredible addition to his photographic narrative.Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen is published by Thames & Hudson.

R O G E R - B A L L E N ’ S - A S Y L U M - O F - T H E  - B I R D S

To run alongside the release of his new book Asylum of the Birds, Roger Ballen has released a documentary short filmed in collaboration with director Ben Crossman. Aside from his work with famed South African outfit Die Antwoord, this is Ballen’s only other video offering from a career spanning 50 years as a photographer. Asylum of the Birds gives the viewer a thorough look into the method behind the visual madness of Ballen’s photographs. 

The video shows Ballen and Crossman traversing squatters’ camps, mine dumps and abandoned fields in order to reach a shanty town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The corrugated iron structures act as a home and a cage to refugees, escaped mental patients and run away prisoners, as well as a Noah’s arc of animals. Ballen talks about collecting ephemera for his own photographs from pawn shops and witch doctors, as well as odds and ends for those in need, a testament to his lengthy relationship with the people he photographs. Marred with symbols and chaotically cluttered, the Asylum itself looks as though it was designed for the photographer, preexisting Ballen’s use of it. 

Ballen notes “When I create photographs I’ll often travel deep into my own interior, a place where dreams and many of my images originate. I see my photographs as mirrors, reflectors, connectors that challenge the mind”

Ballen’s mind, not always being a place of comfort, should be no deterrent to viewing this work. Asylum of the Birds is an incredible addition to his photographic narrative.

Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen is published by Thames & Hudson.

  • T H I S -  I S - T H E - S A M E - O C E A N - I S S U E - 4 After appearances at the Tokyo, New York and LA Art Book Fairs, The fourth issue of the Melbourne / Berlin based, risograph photography journal is back and in form with a strong Euro based team of familiar names. The journal’s fourth issue continues to experiment with print and production methods alongside the Melbourne-based Dawn Press studio.  "After an Australia-centric third issue we’re particularly excited for number four. It’s the first we’ve published since relocating to Europe and to celebrate we’ve got in touch with a group of photographers working on the continent".  Issue #4 features work from David Boyson Cooper (Glasgow, Scotland), Lasse Dearman (Copenhagen, Denmark), Marijn Degenaar (Berlin, Germany / Gouda, The Netherlands), Jasmine Deporta (Bolzano, Italy), Victoria Mak (St Petersburg, Russia), Jessica Prescott (Berlin, Germany / Napier, New Zealand), Joe Skilton (London, UK), Katarina Šoškić (Vienna, Austria / Belgrade, Serbia), Ana Tabatadze (Berlin, Germany / Tbilisi, Georgia) and curator-publisher Samuel J Davison (Berlin, Germany / Melbourne, Australia).The launch for the issue will be held at Studio \ - (Emser Straße 12, Berlin, 12051) on March 13th from 7pm. The online store will be updated to include the fourth issue from the same week with all copies being posted by mid-March. Stockists and other distribution details will be available at the This is the Same Ocean website here.
  • T H I S -  I S - T H E - S A M E - O C E A N - I S S U E - 4 After appearances at the Tokyo, New York and LA Art Book Fairs, The fourth issue of the Melbourne / Berlin based, risograph photography journal is back and in form with a strong Euro based team of familiar names. The journal’s fourth issue continues to experiment with print and production methods alongside the Melbourne-based Dawn Press studio.  "After an Australia-centric third issue we’re particularly excited for number four. It’s the first we’ve published since relocating to Europe and to celebrate we’ve got in touch with a group of photographers working on the continent".  Issue #4 features work from David Boyson Cooper (Glasgow, Scotland), Lasse Dearman (Copenhagen, Denmark), Marijn Degenaar (Berlin, Germany / Gouda, The Netherlands), Jasmine Deporta (Bolzano, Italy), Victoria Mak (St Petersburg, Russia), Jessica Prescott (Berlin, Germany / Napier, New Zealand), Joe Skilton (London, UK), Katarina Šoškić (Vienna, Austria / Belgrade, Serbia), Ana Tabatadze (Berlin, Germany / Tbilisi, Georgia) and curator-publisher Samuel J Davison (Berlin, Germany / Melbourne, Australia).The launch for the issue will be held at Studio \ - (Emser Straße 12, Berlin, 12051) on March 13th from 7pm. The online store will be updated to include the fourth issue from the same week with all copies being posted by mid-March. Stockists and other distribution details will be available at the This is the Same Ocean website here.

T H I S -  I S - T H E - S A M E - O C E A N - I S S U E - 4 

After appearances at the Tokyo, New York and LA Art Book Fairs, The fourth issue of the Melbourne / Berlin based, risograph photography journal is back and in form with a strong Euro based team of familiar names. The journal’s fourth issue continues to experiment with print and production methods alongside the Melbourne-based Dawn Press studio. 

"After an Australia-centric third issue we’re particularly excited for number four. It’s the first we’ve published since relocating to Europe and to celebrate we’ve got in touch with a group of photographers working on the continent". 


Issue #4 features work from David Boyson Cooper (Glasgow, Scotland), Lasse Dearman (Copenhagen, Denmark), Marijn Degenaar (Berlin, Germany / Gouda, The Netherlands), Jasmine Deporta (Bolzano, Italy), Victoria Mak (St Petersburg, Russia), Jessica Prescott (Berlin, Germany / Napier, New Zealand), Joe Skilton (London, UK), Katarina Šoškić (Vienna, Austria / Belgrade, Serbia), Ana Tabatadze (Berlin, Germany / Tbilisi, Georgia) and curator-publisher Samuel J Davison (Berlin, Germany / Melbourne, Australia).

The launch for the issue will be held at Studio \ - (Emser Straße 12, Berlin, 12051) on March 13th from 7pm. The online store will be updated to include the fourth issue from the same week with all copies being posted by mid-March. Stockists and other distribution details will be available at the This is the Same Ocean website here.

NOEL-CAMARDO



Who would you most like to see embarrass themselves? Glenn Beck. Describe the most important photo you’ve seen. Lee Friedlander, ALBUQUERQUE, 1972 I first saw this image at age 17. It took a while to realize why I was so drawn to it. The subject is spread throughout the frame, and was the first time I thought about making photographs that aren’t just about a singular subject or moment. Today this is still my favorite photograph, it is perfect. What is the worst thing about city life? Sometimes you want to get away from people. What part of the planet would you like to explore? Southern Louisiana. What is it that interests you about photography? I’m obsessed with making photographs, seeing what scenes look like photographed and pursuing that perfect photograph. If your photographs could talk, what would most of them say? Hey you, think about this. What Was The Last Crime You Witnessed? Skid Row 6:30am drug dealing.


What is the most complicated meal you can think of? I’ve been thinking about a 18hr pig roast. Ultimate Camera? Leica M6. Most Used Camera? Leica M9. Name one smell that triggers an abstract memory. Playdough. Describe your generation. Obsessed with cell phones, and unsubstantial digital interactions. What relationship advice do you have for us? Honesty. Choose a song to play over a montage of everything you did today. Silver Jews, Tennessee Is There Something Wrong With Kids Today, And If So, What? Less screens, more sticks, stones and sun.


Pick An Historic Moment From The Last Hundred Years To Bring A Camera To. Atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Which Talent Would You Most Like To Have? Dunking a basketball over Lebron James. What will baffle future generations about our day and age? Extreme Income inequality in the U.S.A. What is your plan for the next 24 hours? Take photographs around Los Angeles, and get ready for valentines day with my girl.

NOEL CAMARDO - From the series “GIANT”.




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ZHANG-XIAO



Name one smell that triggers an abstract memory. Foot odor. Describe your generation. Oppressive. What Was The Last Crime You Witnessed? Authoritarian society. Who would you most like to see embarrass themselves? Government. Name a design flaw in the human body. Sleep. Describe the most important photo you’ve seen.
No important. What is the worst thing about city life? Noisy.


What part of the planet would you like to explore? Seabed. Describe A Cheap Thrill. Masturbation. Have you recently been living by any life philosophy? Do not worry. If your photographs could talk, what would most of them say? I am a male or female? Pick An Historic Moment From The Last Hundred Years To Bring A Camera To. Yesterday. Which Talent Would You Most Like To Have? Stealth. If you were one of the Great Painters who are you pretty certain you’d be? Giorgio Morandi. 


Pick a celebrity to lead your nation. Mr. Bean. Describe a personal hell. Kept fat. Ultimate Camera? Eyes. Most Used Camera iPhone. Name an artist that is overrated. Me. What will baffle future generations about our day and age? Power failure. What is your plan for the next 24 hours? Sleep. Last words before death? Do not want to sleep.

ZHANG XIAO - From the series “Coastline”.




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PAUL-BATT


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Make a prediction for a world without alcohol. A massive lowering of the birth rate and the disappearance of male to male declarations of love. 
Who would you most like to see embarrass themselves? Bono. Name a design flaw in the human body. The belief in an afterlife. Describe the most important photo you’ve seen. I’m not sure if I could choose a single image but Walker Evan’s series of Subway Portraits published in the book ‘Many are Called’, has made a lasting impression on me.I remember the first time I saw it as a student, I found the ‘truth’ that Evans had captured to be all at once oddly tender and brutally honest! It’s one of the few bodies of work I keep coming back to… What is the worst thing about city life? Having to endure the telephone conversations of other people on public transport. What part of the planet would you like to explore? Japan Have you recently been living by any life philosophy?
Yes! Worry less and try to embrace the randomness and chaos of existence. What is it that interests you about photography? The act of trying to see things photographically. If your photographs could talk, what would most of them say? That my photography is an extension of an obsessive tendency to collect things and an innate need to catalogue and categorize those things after after doing so. 

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DON UNRAU:WAR STORY

Recently, Don Unrau contacted us about showing one of his series, The Revolutionary Moment, not being familiar with Don’s work, we did a bit of research and stumbled upon another of his series War Story. The pared back approach and combination of story and image is engrossing, not only for the striking portraits within, but also the candid delivery of a visual narrative; Veterans, putting pen to paper, recounting their experiences. Ranging from short and blunt to extended recollections of sadness, patriotism and pathos, War Story marries Don’s own personal experience as a Vietnam veteran with that of others who spent time there.

It’s been 30 years since War Story was first shown and exhibited, we ask Don how he feels about this series now, and given the closing of yet another conflict is it perhaps taking on new relevance.


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We read that after being injured and discharged from Vietnam in 1973, you destroyed all of your negatives from your time spent there. 
Having erased a big part of your personal record of the war, with War Story did you feel you were reanimating your experiences through the lives of other returned servicemen? Right. While in Vietnam during the war, I carried a small Japanese rangefinder and began thinking that it’s a pretty cool feeling to frame something in the viewfinder. Then, a short time after coming home, I thought it would be a good idea to cut up all the negatives I had taken. Later, in the 80’s, shit started to percolate. Fortunately, at the end of art school I began the War Story series. so I do think there was some interest in seeing how other veterans thinking might be similar to my own; but equally there was the curiosity of telling a war story and putting it out there visually though a portrait.

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It was a decent chunk of time between the end of the conflict and the start of making War Story; over a decade, what made it the right time? The right time is when forces come together to make it difficult not to do it. I happened to be near the end of my studies and was fortunate to have had teachers who challenged me. Often, it takes time for events to come home ‘to roost,’ creating the right conditions. Even when you’re younger you can get the feeling that time is running out.

For years after, the record of Vietnam and its returned veterans was something messy and swept under the rug, did you feel like these peoples stories needed to be told? Yeah. That time was at the height of Vietnam ‘blow-back.’ I imagine a lot of people were wondering what was going on with these people(vets). We all have stories to tell and for veterans the spoken war story is a classic narrative. But, I was less interested in listening to one, than I was in making a visual document. I wanted to see the words on paper with their portrait. Not an original idea, but the connection between the two seems to work.

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Can you tell us how and why you selected the people that you did for the series? Was it hard to get people to open up honestly about their experiences? Though I didn’t generally hang out with vets, I did know some well enough to feel comfortable asking, and it helped being a vet. After a couple portraits, it was kind of word of mouth that expanded the circle. For myself, there seemed to be a fair amount of tension while working with them. All the shared experiences, then asking them to write something permanent for others to see makes it pretty heavy. Though you never really know, it seems like there is always something held back. Far more is unspoken and unwritten. But, their honesty was always apparent, no matter what they chose to write about.

How did you get the photographs, were they planned and considered or were they shot candidly during your visits? Generally, I’d meet them at their homes for conversation about what I was up to. I’m sure that most really didn’t have much of a notion about what the images would end up looking like. Maybe they didn’t dwell on that like I may have, but, I do think they trusted me to be as genuine as I thought they were. Even having my camera with me, I usually didn’t photograph at the first meeting. At that point, in my mind I was planning on what I might do to make the portrait. I always asked what they wanted…some gave me help, others were more interested in the process than the outcome. I left them a piece of white paper with borders they would write within. Often it took weeks to get the writing back. When I got the writing we’d then get at making the portrait. After the portrait was made it was off to the darkroom to combine the two. As for the photographs, maybe they are ‘planned candids,’ if there is such a thing.

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Forty years on, The Vietnam conflict is perhaps cemented in the collective consciousness as a regretful part of American history, was this echoed by the people you talked to for this series or did you find that Vietnam meant different things to different people? Yes, for a lot of Americans, ‘Vietnam’ is one of the more regretful parts of our history. But, I was very surprised to find such a wide range of emotions toward the war, and our country. All I asked was they write something about ‘Vietnam.’ It didn’t matter to me how much they wrote, or what they wrote…the sadness, pathos, patriotism. They gave me what they could, which was a lot and I am grateful for what they did.

Has the project changed for you over the years? With men and women returning home once again from conflict, how has this informed how you read War Story now? The portraits were in a box for a long time. A few years ago one of the images was requested by a curator for a large exhibition. At that point I began trying to get them out so more people could see them. Looking at them now still stirs up a lot of emotion from the years in which they were made. I can’t help look at them and think of all the young veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. Vietnam veterans were screwed…it’s even worse for these young people.

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You returned to Vietnam in the 90’s to shoot another series (Mediations Vietnam), how has your understanding of the country and it’s people changed given distance and time? In 1991-92, I really needed to get back to Vietnam. That was when our first Iraq war started. Emotions were high and I thought it might be a good time to see what it looked like back in Vietnam. I had finished the War Story photographs and felt like it was time to grab the camera, some black and white film and see what we had been fighting over. It was exciting with the emotion of being there, looking through the viewfinder at this place that was not at all like I had experienced before. Even though it was a different place, I still felt the need to make a visual connection for myself, which had to include remnants of our war. Even now, when I return to Vietnam I realize things have changed dramatically, but I still can’t help looking for the few left-over reminders of the war. Their population is very young, so even though the youth of Vietnam have a good understanding of history, their interest is in moving on and that’s probably the best thing for a lot of people to do.

(To view the handwritten stories we have high res images here)

Interview and foreword - Geordie & Jack.

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