Live + Zoom Artist Talk with Ben Felten
Date: Saturday 22 May 2021
Time: 11am [HK time]
Venue: Blue Lotus Gallery, 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
++ Free Event, RSVP required, Conducted in English
Contact christina@bluelotus-gallery.com to register to the live talk
Zoom Meeting Details:
Saturday 22 May at 11 am
Meeting ID: 851 9207 6774
Passcode: 152839
Benoit Felten, 'Palms on the Back', Hong Kong 2021, Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery
‘NUDE STUDIES 裸體研究’ explores the timeless fixation by artists to represent the human body, specifically through the lens of three current photographers. All practice within the analog domain and yet their work manifests in unique forms. From the Grand Master of minimal black & white landscapes, Michael Kenna breaks new ground by photographing the female nude but not without his signature style and attention. For colour and the vital female gaze we turn to Au Tze Long whose intimate and deeply personal work moves between stories, dreams, ritual and reality. Whispering of life’s inherent messiness and pain, they also communicate the bond between photographer and model - human to human. Ben Felten’s project ‘Photosynthesis’ marries content and technique as his double exposures of plants on nudes come to life through blue tones of cyanotype printing which is originally developed in sunlight. Man and Nature grow, blossom and wilt with time: his prints remind us we are on this planet but only a brief moment.
Ben Felten is a French born photographer living in Hong Kong. He started his photography work 15 years ago shooting jazz musicians in small Parisian clubs. When he moved to Asia in 2014, his work shifted towards street photography using a panoramic film camera. This led him to exploring the more unusual features of film photography, including double exposures. He was also commissioned to illustrate a couple of large format books, Dreamhounds of Paris (2014) and Unknown Armies (2016). This led him to perfecting his portraiture work, and in 2018 the double exposure and portrait threads merged into the Photosynthesis project. This in turn rekindled his love of cyanotype printing which he'd dabbled in 10 years earlier. In 2020, he released a zine of his panoramic street work called Colours of Shanghai.
Ben Felten－藝術家分享會
日期：星期六 5月22日 2021
時間：上午11時
地點：Blue Lotus Gallery 上環磅巷28號
立即聯繫 christina@bluelotus-gallery.com 註冊以參加分享會
Benoit Felten 'Half a Nymph' Hong Kong, 2020, Courtesy of Blue Lotus Gallery
《裸體研究》探索三位當代攝影師鏡頭下的人體面貌，三者的作品均用菲林拍攝，但各自散發著其獨特的風格韻味。黑白攝影大師 Michael Kenna 突破往常的題材首次拍攝人體，其標誌性格調卻依舊表露無遺；著重色調及其女性審美觀的的區子朗，則透過極為私密和個人的作品帶領觀眾遊走於故事、睡夢、儀式和現實間，以作品耳語出人生的紛亂與疾苦；Ben Felten 透過雙重曝光和藍晒技法，將植物和裸照融為一體，讓意象與技術完美結合。
Ben Felten是一名生於法國的居港攝影師。他的攝影之旅啟程於15年前，當時他在巴黎的一家小型俱樂部為爵士樂音樂家進行拍攝工作。當他於2014年移居亞洲後，他開始轉向使用菲林相機進行街頭攝影。這使他發掘了菲林攝影的不同面貌，包括重複曝光。他的作品還輯錄於兩本大型書籍：《 Dreamhounds of Paris》（2014年）和《Unknown Armies》（2016年）。這使他進一步拓展了自己的人像攝影創作，並於2018年以重複曝光將人像結合於《光合作用》系列當中。這一切反過來重新激發了Felten於十年前曾涉足藍曬法印刷的熱情。 直至2020年，他把一系列全景街頭作品－《Colours of Shanghai》輯印成攝影小誌。
