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 British Photographer Ben Murphy was determined to get inside the UN building, prior to the major renovation of the building in 2007. Over a period of 15 months, Murphy worked his way around the building, taking photographs on 5x4 and 6x7 plate camera. In more than 100 photographs, Murphy has managed to capture what he calls ‘a certain melancholic beauty’. Architectururally speaking, the building bears the heavy imprint of the UN’s early vision. ‘I’m saddened that the post war ideal didn’t materialise’ , Murphy says. And that the building is decaying and this beautiful space is going to change. But it’s like a museum. It no longer represents the real world. It was one of the earliest projects of the upcoming young Brazilian architect Niemeyer , the famous project 23. Ben Murphy has achieved praise for his series ‘Riverbed’, pictures shot in a Spain. The series was about a post colonial settlement in Andalusia, a colony of British New age travellers in the wasteland of Spain. Due to the series, he got a fund from the Grant Foundation in Chicago to work on Tent Cities in the United States. The works will be on show at the Photographers Gallery in London at at the Stieglitz19 Gallery. Works of Ben Murphy are in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has also been shortlisted for the Sovereign Price. He is presently working on a series on hippie communities in Spain. Exhibition program 2012 january : Ben Murphu, UN BUILDING march : Lara Gasparotto march : Biennale Internationale de la Photographie Liege (Francois Goffin, Lara Gasparotto , Kumi Oguro) may : Jessika Backhaus (one day in november) september : Kumi Oguro , new works november : American Landscape (John Humble, Dave Jordano, Richard Pak) |
