BIO

Ben Maier (b. 1989)

EDUCATION

B.A. Economics and Media, DHBW Ravensburg (2009-2012)
Photography Design, Deutsche Pop Akadamie Hamburg (2016-2018)
B.A. Photography, Royal Academy of Art The Hague (2018-now)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 

I miss you, home (2021)
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, The Netherlands

Don’t hold your breath (2021)
The grey space in the middle, The Hague, The Netherlands

Research Labs (2021)
EYE Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

In the evening (2021)
Essen, Germany

norderlicht photo festival (2020)
Groningen, The Netherlands

besetzen (2019)
x-pon art gallery, Hamburg, Germany

Kolga Tbilisi Photo (2019)
Tbilisi, Georgia

We must unite (2018)
Landgang Brauerei, Hamburg, Germany

Sünde (2017)
Goldmarie, Hamburg, Germany

ARTIST STATEMENT

“The visual economist”

I’m a documentary photographer and visual artist with a background in economics and media. Complex coherences in present-day society intrigue me. My interests inspire me to research economic inequalities and alternative ways of designing life. The camera is an exploratory tool for me, it helps me to grasp connections and to form my own understanding. In my current photographic practice, I’m questioning Western society and the aftermath of neoliberalism. Visually driven and enhanced with text, film and sound, the projects depict parts of complexities that contradict ethical values in the social and economic domain. My photography incorporates fictional aspects and digital alterations – the visual strategies are variations of traditional documentary techniques, enhanced with contemporary and conceptual ambiguous aesthetics. The final projects can be considered visual eclecticism. With my photography I hope to create an awareness of our unequal society and provoke political change.

Published in

GEOlino, Schwarzweiss, NDR, Bento - Spiegel, Uniscene, Baobab, Dass Magazin, Soul of Street, Under Her Gaze We Feel Golden by Pineapple Road Press, Wave, Culture Action Europe (podcast), Common Ground Magazine, Stuttgarter Zeitung