Ben is telling a story - a folktale of sorts. The main character is somehow trapped within the artworks on the gallery wall. She is surrounded by paintings that have a feeling of days gone by – a world frozen in time. You are invited to explore by stepping through the gallery wall into a world that is slightly unsettling, perhaps even a hallucination, as with many folktales. Here, many artworks on display are from the Herbert’s collection. ‘In order for my own artworks to sit alongside, and not feel disjointed from, works from the collection, I have used materials and methods of a similar style. I’ve also made new works in relation to those from the collection, displayed in a salon hang so they interact with each other. This aims to enhance the story of the character trapped in a different world.’ - Ben Javens
Side 2