Artist Database

Roger Ballen was born in New York City in 1950, to Irving and Adrienne Ballen. As a teenager, he was gifted a camera, and immediately began shooting life in the city, its people, and its fringes. Ballen later moved to Johannesburg where he began his career as a geologist, often working on the outskirts of small towns all over South Africa. He began photographing documentary-style images of these small towns and their streets, later becoming more involved with the people and their interiors – to which he turned his camera. Ballen has since photographed estranged communities, birds, and fantasy scenes, including drawings within these images. He most notably worked with Die Antwoord, producing images and a collaborative film. Ballen has produced a number of photographic volumes and essays, and been included in a number of international and national art collections. He has received many awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award (Bokeh SA Awards 2019), and an honorary doctorate from Kingston University, United Kingdom (2018).

Roger Ballen is one of the three artists to be showcased on the South African Pavilion during the Biennale Arte 2022, in Venice.

Image by Marguerite Rossouw.