Benjamin Cohen
“I am interested in the role images, objects and structures play in our identity and history and how subsequently, memories can be constructed.”
Interview by Simek Shropshire
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? Where did you study?
I studied a Masters at Central Saint Martins between 2012-14. At that time, I was making semi-abstract paintings. I spent these two years proving to myself that I had exhausted the possibilities in my painting practice. I felt bored and limited as a painter. I was eager to establish new trajectories; routes forward that enabled me to explore sculpture, moving image, sound and other ways of thinking and making. It was at this point that my career as an artist started.
Can you elaborate on the notion of “the architecture of memory” and how the exploration of this notion impacts your work?
Over the past seven years my practice has been shaped by the mausoleum-esque home within, where my late Uncle Derrick resided – middle eastern rock formations in books, a redundant metal-detecting kit from Germany, pastiche corbel fittings and an inch or so of dust covering everything – a family history waiting to be excavated; a series of fragments or clues waiting to be pieced together. Notions of the archaeological, archival and architectural play out in my work. I am interested in the role images, objects and structures play in our identity and history and how subsequently, memories can be constructed.
through lengths and breadths, 2019
Something that isn't - FOLD Gallery, 2019
Derrick and Mausoleum FOLD Gallery, 2019
Geometric objects and forms feature heavily throughout your oeuvre. What is your approach to bringing these structures into conversation with one another?
My approach to making is akin to collage; my studio is full of objects, images, geometric forms and structures - I attempt to establish new meanings and connections between them by bringing one in-situ with another. This approach enables these objects, images etc. to form dialogues with the past and the future simultaneously. I want the work to appear as though it could be a thousand years old or made in a thousand years’ time; like a future relic. Something is always gained, and something is always lost through this process.
How does an engagement in collaborative practice influence your creation of a particular work?
I have been involved in many collaborative projects, past and present, including ‘Priprema, Pozor, Pad: Still I’d like to Try it Just One More Time’ in Belgrade, Serbia (2014), ‘The march that no one saw’ in Wales, UK (2015) and ‘If it sounds like bacon you’re doing it right’ in Athens, Greece (2017). The project ’40 Years’ (2015-55) – where an object is sent back and forward in the post every month (for 40 Years), manipulated each time before it is sent back, between me and the artist Majella Dowdican – is an ongoing work that investigates notions of lineage, the archive and temporality. This project in particular, feeds into my studio practice as it encourages me to consider how objects, images, forms and structures can transcend time, belonging to everywhere and nowhere instantaneously.
each should find the other younger, 2021
thoughts of hypothermia, 2020
In what ways has your practice aesthetically and theoretically evolved over the past five years?
Aesthetically, I think my decision-making has grown and strengthened. I can now see the equal potential in a meticulously crafted resin form that may take over a year to realise and a broken plastic toilet-plunger handle found discarded in the street. In fact, it is at that very moment, when two juxtaposed elements come together, where something interesting begins to happen.
Theoretically, it is hard to say. My practice is, and has always been, transitional. It spirals forwards, selecting and discarding ideas, materials and processes that feel appropriate or useful in the present. In this sense, ways of working that had once seemed exhausted reappear, and my role is to re-potentialize and re-exhaust them again. Come back to me in 5 years and I may be able to answer this question with more precision.
What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?
The poeticism of Chris Marker’s films, as well as the writings of Philip Larkin and Octavio Paz, are a huge influence on my practice. The architectural nature of Diane Simpson’s sculptures, as well as Jesper Just’s deconstructed time-based works continue to propel my work forwards. I frequently look to Peles Empire, Steve Claydon, Danh Vo, Sofía Táboas, Mary Lund and Lothar Hempel (among many others) for motivation.
Mariana Castillo Deball’s archaeological installations, sculptures, photographs and drawings also resonate with me – particularly her plaster cast works in response to monolithic Mayan stone monuments.
Is there anything new and exciting in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?
A focus on installation is becoming more evident in my work. New projects aim to transform space, be more immersive and interactive – to unify the work and space, where one corner or end of a site is inextricably linked with another. A push for interdisciplinary works that are both object and stage simultaneously.
Currently in the studio: eastern birdcages, concrete beaks, cast lime green polystyrene packaging, thousands of found laughing gas canisters collected over a three-year period, appropriated split-screen footage of a hunted deer, silicone corbels and cornices, cat-litter trays, ‘metal detecting for beginners’ manuals, mirror-backed styrene, bio resin, fake marble, laser-cut geometric window grills and more. These components will all play a part in new works this year.
All images are courtesy of the artist
Date of publication: 20/05/21
