New York, NY
Biography:
Benjamin Heller grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and lives and works in New York City. He has a fascination and connection to movement and the power of the physical world. His study of physical theater and poetry has largely influenced his work. He seeks to capture this in creation of self portraits incorporating the design and construction of costumes, performance and photographic images.
After working extensively with self-portraits, he started making and incorporating costumes into his work to try to express a broader state of being within an image. The creation of a new skin is an experience that changes the consciousness and perception through its action. Placing the costume within an environment can cultivate different experiences of self within a new form: the physical experience of constructing and being inside the costume, the interaction with the environment within, and the photograph itself.
In his work he has sought to create images that feel truly and vibrantly alive within the stillness of a single moment. Images can create a place to be, somewhere to fall into; a space to disappear into in order to fully emerge. The costume becomes a world in itself in which life happens from the inside out.
Website: www.benjaminheller.com
