Ben B Lee was born in Texarkana, TX in 1990 before moving to his permanent home in Georgia. Ben’s artistic practices utilize aspects of conceptual photography and collection while exploring themes of memory and death. In 2013 he received his BFA: Studio Art from Columbus State University and his MFA: Photography the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design at Georgia State University in 2017. While based in Atlanta, GA his works have been exhibited nationally: Day & Night Studio in Atlanta, GA, Colorado Photographic Arts Center in Denver, CO, and the Aqua Air Fair in Miami, FL. His work has also been included in Atlanta Celebrates Photography publications and will be an artist in residence at Elsewhere in Greensboro, NC in the summer of 2017.
The Feeling of Being OK
“The Feeling of Being OK” is an exhibition of appropriated imagery and objects from unknown abandoned collections. Using the tension found in the enigmatic aspects of these materials the work investigates the fragility and fabrication of the photograph’s capacity for memory and narrative. Designed to be a meditation on William Faulkner’s 1930 novel “As I Lay Dying”, this series focuses on themes including empathy and indifference in the face of tragedy, instability of identity, and life’s inevitable fates, the human condition as a whole. By incorporating found materials such as vernacular objects, found photographs, and text into the installation, the potential for meaning is broadened. The work is installed in constellations or vignettes, each focusing on aspects of the characters and their accompanying motifs, allowing for metaphorical and poetic readings of the newly recontextualized material.
To view more of Ben’s work please visit his website.