NIGEL
BENNETT
Born UK, 1975. Lives
and works London and Roma.
Nigel Bennett is a
multi-media artist, known for his dark, tense and often political
work in film and photography, and for producing cinematic electronic
music under the moniker of "Spuek".
Son of British history
teacher, and American artist. Alienated by mainstream society, sought
sanctuary in graffiti culture with other "in-between" kids.
But this ironically caused further alienation as became ill due to
over exposure to organo-phosphates contained in aerosol paint and
therefore left school from the age of 13. Influence of graffiti
experience on work: urban environment and darkness - a childhood
lived at night.s
"Between-ness"
both in person and work - Itinerant, more at home without a home.
Work doesnt fit any one discipline but frequently tends to mix
genres: blurring documentary and fiction, the intellectual with the
more immediate.
Although the majority
of Bennett's output in photography and film is clearly 'directed' or
'staged' he comes from a documentary background and worked for a
period as a journalist, and this past continues to hold a strong
influence over both his interest in the representation of 'truths' ,
and the narrative, often 'faux-documentary' style of his work. Much
of his photography and film concentrates on the issue of identity and
frequently immigration, but with more recent works on myth/truth he
has begun to examine the relationship between historical/political
event, geographical location, and local inhabitant.
"Art is really
just a sign of my selfishness; if iI were a better person I'd do
something more useful with my life."
Dark, at times
threatening, yet always possessing a rare emotional subtlety and
sensitivity, Bennett's work, both audio and visual, is frequently
suggestive of ambiguous narratives and undefined, nocturnal journeys.
The sights and sounds of the social margins.
At
first glance, most spectators of Bennett’s photographs are
captivated by the darkness and
the
sombre, sometimes mystical atmosphere. Possessing a nuanced variety
of different blacks,
and
with his masterly use of light, it is no surprise that his
photography is sometimes referred to
as
caravaggioesque. Instead of hastily moving on to the next picture –
as the dark parts don’t
allow
for much perceptibility at first –, the spectator dwells on each
photograph, trying to look
deeper,
recognizing what the artist is about to show us (or to hide from us).
La
sua fotografia è spesso minimale in modo radicale, e spesso
impregnata di una fenomenologia ambientale, un mistero legato
all'ambiente. Si possono trovare legami con l'opera di lynch, o altri
fotografi come lorca di corcia, jeff wall, gregory crewdson, ma in
lui si nota una maggiore vitalità ed partecipazione, energia,
una forte la componente probabilmente derivante dal suo passato di
street artist.
Selected
Solo Exhibitions
2008. Art Rotterdam.
Rotterdam, Netherlands.
2007. Difficulties In
The Way Of Persuasion. Artrepco, Zurich, Switzerland
2005. All That Lies
Between Us. Artrepco, Zurich, Switzerland
2003. Tunnel Vision.
90SQM, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
2003. Tunnel Vision.
Artrepco, Zurich, Switzerland
2003. Tunnel Vision.
PEA, London, UK.
Selected
Group Exhibitions
2007. Flash Forward,
Toronto, Canada
2006. Artrepco, Zurich,
Switzerland
2005. Milk Studios, New
York, USA
2004. Artrepco, Zurich,
Switzerland
2004. Forum 04.
Barcelona, Spain.
2003. Saatchi &
Saatchi, London, UK
2002. Drays Walk,
London, UK.
Art
Fairs
2007. Art Berlin,
Germany
2007. Art Lyon, France
2007. Art Berlin,
Germany
2007. Art Rotterdam,
Netherlands
2006. Kunst Zurich,
Zurich, Switzerland
2005. Photo London, UK
2004. Artfrankfurt,
Frankfurt, Germany
2004. Kunst Zurich,
Switzerland
Selected
Publications
Miser & Now, The
Face, ID, British Journal Of Photography, Grafik Magazine, Theme
Park, Free Eye, Creative Review, Sampler Album Art, Exit, ‘A’
Magazine, Self Service, Liberation, The Guardian
.
Catalogues: Tunnel
Vision solo show. Forum 04, Fotorelief and Emotion, Magenta: Flash
Forward group shows.
Selected
Film Festivals, Screenings And Awards
Festival de Cannes,
Cannes/France
Festival de
Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand/France
Festival 'L'avis de
château', Chateau Chinon/France
Festival de Brest,
Brest/France
Festival 'Humanité
et Condition Humaine', Altkirch/France
Projection 'Brunch du
court métrage' au Balzac, Paris/France
Festival Kinoforum, Sao
Paulo, Sao Paolo/Brasil
Festival 'Cinéma
tout écran', Geneva/Switzerland;
Festival
'Ciné-premières', Groningen/Netherlands
Festival
KIMERA-Termoli/Italia;
Land Of The Living
Shorts film festival, Italia
Festival Aluciné,
Toronto/Canada
Rotterdam International
Film Festival, Rotterdam/Netherlands
Festival Corto FF,
Mexico City/Mexico
4FF – 3rd Borderlands
International Film Festival, Italia
Commissioned and
screened by Canal+, France. Distributed by Unifrance.
CNC Special award
Best Original
Soundtrack
Quality award, Centre
National de la Cinematographie.
Festival
KIMERA-Termoli, Italia
Magenta Foundation
Flash Forward, photographer of the year 2007
Education
1996-2000 School Of
Oriental And African Studies, University Of London, UK.
BA Southeast Asian
Studies (with Thai and Vietnamese languages)1st class honours.
