Held at the Contemporary Art Society in London on 23 June 2015.
A fantastic opportunity to hear about the work of Ben Rivers in the artist’s own words. Rivers talks about several of his key works, in particular two films Ah, Liberty! and Origin of The Species from 2008.
The two films are both made using 16mm film and capture contemplative portraits of individuals living at the margins of society. The physicality of 16mm film, in distinction to digital video, reflects the tactile, tangible worlds of the characters he portrays and Rivers uses his awareness of the history of the medium and its multiple genres to break away from traditional audio and visual narratives.
Rivers is known for his hand-made aesthetic and reinterpretation of the ethnographic. Moving between documentary and fiction, Rivers’ films draw the audience into private worlds where people and nature exist symbiotically.
Ben Rivers (b. 1972, Somerset) lives and works in London. Rivers is an artist working closely with 16mm film and is known for his meditative portraits of alternative ways of living. His work has been shown in exhibitions and film festivals around the world and has won numerous awards, most recently the Canon Tiger Award for Short Films (2015) and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists (2010). Recent solo exhibitions include the Hepworth Wakefield (2012); Hayward Project Space (2011) and Matt’s Gallery, London (2011). Forthcoming solo exhibitions and commissions include ArtAngel Open Commission, London (2015) and Camden Arts Centre, London (2015).
