Benji Reid

There is an intellectual conversation that takes place in Benji’s artworks, his concepts delve into a  deep reservoir of abstract, political and theatrical observations. He accesses the psyche of our  complex society with a sense of wit and surrealism, however within realms of the ordinary, an empty room, tables and chairs and then encompassing the aesthetics of choreography. As a  photographer he creates a world of the unreal and within the same context the real and unchallenged realty. Yet the sequence of his works embody exploratory views of the  human condition. They convey the depths of mental health issues, and at the same time enrich the lateral idea of humour and storytelling. His playfulness in the quirky along with the realness of his portraiture, amongst the experimental details of everyday objects, from light bulbs, lampshades,  cardboard boxes and cooking oil with which he creates a narrative of the unreal. He works with himself as a body as a canvas in many of his artworks, this sequence has a sense of self-portraiture to it, in as such as he uses himself to express the narrative. Yet he also works with models, this array in his body of work conveys a series with a chronicle of work, with the same essence of theatre that one often sees in those fashion shoots, that push the boundaries and create an illusion of fantasy that one would see in magazines like Italian Vogue or Vanity Fair. The only difference is that instead of expensive stylists with accessories from designer labels, Benji uses objects that are a multifaceted diversity of inane items that create a completely unique dialogue. 

Benji’s journey as an artist started out quite uniquely as a contemporary dancer, it was the  inception of hip hop in the United Kingdom in the 80’s that found its way from New York to the UK, he tells me. The release of Malcolm McLaren’s, Buffalo Girls, and breakdancing culture, inspired the Manchester born Benji, “It was the way people  responded to me when they saw me dance, I wasn’t academic, I wasn’t tough, but when I danced I could see it in people’s eyes” he explains. After leaving school he joined a team of professional dancers called Broken Glass, touring the world for two years. In 1986 he attended the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, studying modern dance, choreography, theatre and lighting design in Leeds, Benji describes this as the ground works in what he creates today with his photography. “I was looking at dance and choreography to tell a story, and what it means to play with composition,” he explains. As a theatre director, he was an outside eye, and encouraged to look at the bigger picture, from structural, narrative and lighting. He describes all the stages of his career life as stepping stones, having worked in physical theatre direction. He wrote and starred in the theatre production of Paper Jackets, this led to his directorial debut for a hip hop musical and beginnings of his business Breaking Cycles, working  with theatres in London, such as Sadler’s Wells, Royal Opera House to the Sydney Opera House, for seven years.

It was when he had to shut down his business, he struggled with depression; however it was picking up an old SLR camera that he had lying about to take a photograph of his daughter. The result of the image and the reaction he received,  after posting it on social media, was the incentive that gave him such joy, and it went on from there, taking pictures, the year was 2011. Benji points out the importance of how the work makes you feel, to be able to produce something that makes you feel good, and relates to photography as a mechanism to make theatre. The ability to be free again, and not become involved in institutions, the lumbering beat that you are carrying and worrying more about other people than following your own desires. It started out simply, the lighting from his side window in his home and just enough space to create his art, this evolved to building his own studio. His concepts and inspirations change with every piece of artwork, and are inspired by random things he sees, he describes it as a spiritual radio, walking past and seeing a piece of plexiglass and taking it home, that element actually inspires him. His ideas come as a series of impulses, none of the objects make sense individually, it’s only when he puts them together, it makes sense to him, Benji explains. His athletic build as contemporary dancer, encompassing the whole as he uses himself as a prop to create the artwork. 

We discuss which artists inspire him and he mentions Ibrahim El-Salahi, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gordon Parks and the dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch. Benji describes himself as a magpie drawn to different ideas and inspirations, and particularly the lighting of the comic book writer and artist Frank Millar. He points out to me “that the poetry is what is so much part of the incongruous theatre to his work”. It is this exploration of depression and recovery that is his art, as a reinvention of himself, that his photographs are all in conversation with each other. Benji’s athletic dancer’s ability and physique, lends itself well as a choice of model as he expresses himself in the movement, as he floats, flies and explores with some sci-fi imagery, and he takes us with him on the hint of the zany. At the same time his narratives divulge the existentialist aspects of humanity.  As a boy who had undergone heart surgery at age eight; he additionally exposes the complexities of being a black man growing up and living in Manchester in northern England; parenthood and the courage to pursue your dreams, and when necessary how to start again. 

Interview: Antoinette Haselhorst