here and there
Solo exhibition by Ben Malcolmson, exhibited at PS³, 2025
Ben Malcolmson’s debut artist book, self-published ‘here and there’, presents a five-year photographic look (2019-2024) into the topography of Ireland and Western Europe. The materiality of the process of artbook making is evident in every book - they are hand-bound and the arrangements of photographs are manually inserted by the artist. Drawing from an archive of five years of smartphone photos, the images are playfully assembled to weave thematic connections of place, personal ephemera and photographic making. Through a non-chronological sequence of works, Malcolmson explores the space between—the feeling of being neither fully here nor there. This publication was launched as part of a significant photographic culmination held as a solo installation at PS³ - Belfast, October, 2025
Generously supported by The Eaton Fund.
A core part of this exhibition is the outreach engagement, Ben facilitated (with the assistance of Emma Spreadborough) a workshop with a selected group of creative practitioners, writers and designers from Ireland, England, Wales and North America. The participants explored interests in the field of expanded image media, within publications, exploring and contributing to a wider discourse of artist books within Ireland now.
Group workshop participants:
Emma Spreadborough, Alexander Stubbs, Jess Raymond, Abby Poulson, Drew Leventhal, Cian Pawle-Bates, filming support by Cathal Donnelly.
Ben Malcolmson, b.1999, born Belfast & based in Dublin, Ireland
Ben Malcolmson is a visual artist and curator. His fine art practice explores the boundaries of photography, video, and sculpture using alternative photographic processes related to land and identity. His curatorial interests focus on social engagement and activism through a public-centred approach, especially for young people.
Emma Spreadborough, b. 2000, is an Irish artist based in Belfast.
Working mainly in photographic media, her work focuses on the landscape of Ireland in the wake of recent history. Influenced by Irish Literature, history and folklore, she explores the supernatural and otherworldly within the home and outdoors. Emma graduated with First Class Honours from the BA Photography in the Arts course at Swansea College of Art (2020-23).
Alexander Stubbs, b. 1997, born in Walsall and working in Hull, UK.
Alexander is a creative practitioner working primarily in text-based and collaborative practice. He explores the ways in which text, images, and archives can be reanimated in new contexts and has a particular interest in alternative economies and community-building practices. He often works with other artists to deliver workshops, reading groups, projects, and community events outside of traditional educational settings.
Abby Poulson, b. 1998, is a visual artist and curator from and based in Wales.
Her artistic practice explores themes of cultural heritage and rurality, often rooted in the landscape and identity of Wales. Through personal research and inquiry, she works across disciplines, combining lens-based media, analogue processes, and experimental techniques to foster a deeper understanding of place.
Drew Leventhal, b. 1995, is a photographer from the United States.
His practice is informed by his upbringing and training in anthropology. Through photography, Drew sees the possibility for connection and mutual understanding. Each image becomes an ongoing dialogue and search for meaning. Through investigations of ritual, colonial history, and the delineations of landscape, Drew is interested in what it means to be human.
Drew received a BFA in Anthropology from Vassar College and received an MFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has shown work at galleries and museums across the United States. He has been a finalist for the Aperture Portfolio Prize, the Film Photo Award, and the PhMuseum Grant. Drew was the 2022 Lenscratch Student Prize and was previously a National Geographic Young Explorer. He is currently a 2025-2026 Fulbright scholar in Ireland.
Cian Pawle-Bates, b. 1994, born & based in Dublin, Ireland
Cian Pawle-Bates is a graphic designer and ephemera collector with a love for tactile artefacts of subcultures past and present. Having grown up online, he examines pockets of recent culture which have ‘fallen through the cracks’ of the digital age and remain undocumented and misrepresented. His interdisciplinary design practice ranges from digital and motion graphics to printed publications. Many of these printed works act as catalogues and visual essays accompanying other artists’ work.
Jess Raymon, b.1985, born Canada & based in Dublin, Ireland
Jess Raymon is a writer. Her fiction explores the psychology of delusion, scaling beneath the lies we tell ourselves and others to extract the nuggets of emotion hiding below. In recent years she’s collaborated with visual artists on a shoreline creature centred projects exploring vulnerability, place and shame. She’s currently writing and producing a play on funeral floristry.
Cathal Donnelly, b.2002, born Vancouver, Canada & based in Dundalk, Ireland.
Cathal Donnelly is an aspiring photographer & videographer. Studying film & television in Dundalk Institute of Technology. His artistic works tend to follow that of a surrealist or uncanny nature. Whereas the day to day works feature portrait photography and videography, filming interviews and personal showcases of other creatives, to help push the general narratives that other artists seek to spread.
Director of Photography;
Photo Museum Ireland (Interview Series)
How Did We Get Here (Short film)
An Ode to Noise (Short Documentary)
Ar Teanga (Short Documentary)
DKIT Live (YouTube based live show)
