Murmur

Commissioned by The Arab British Centre, exhibited at Belfast Exposed, 2020

Delving into the connection of migration and selfhood, Murmur explored the subtle changing relationship within one’s identity and nature. Ben transferred Northern Ireland’s torn history and identity to material pictures of a struggle through the self. Exploring the mediums of photography, sculpture and multi-media, Murmur addressed the deep cultural heritage of Irish linen and handwoven fabric through site-specific sculptural and video installations that harked back to the history of the industry. As well as resonating the past, Ben commented on the current state of the region, through poetic gestures of self. Ben responded to the political climate in which identity and sense of self are heavily constrained, resulting in a series of self-portrait images that explored the material nature of the photographic image through various traditional and alternative methods of image-making.

Text by Ben Malcolmson, 2020