- GRAPHIC DESIGNER & ART DIRECTOR
- BASED IN LONDON
- CO-FOUNDER OF ‘HERE’ PRESS (INDEPENDANT PUBLISHING HOUSE FOCUSED ON DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY)
- ART DIRECTOR OF ‘THE WIRE’ MAGAZINE (INDEPENDANT NON-MAINSTREAM MUSIC MAGAZINE ONLINE & IN PRINT)
“A series of flood-damaged photographs rescued from the home of Kurtis’s grandmother before his family fled a financially-ruined Argentina in 2001, connect the harsh impersonal processes of the sea to the deeply emotional experience of migration, with all the risks and sacrifices such a journey entails.”
http://www.herepress.org/publications/drowned/
This was the first photobook Ben Weaver published for another artist: Seba Kurtis. Focusing on Kurtis’s family’s experience of immigrating. It contains a combination of found flood-damaged photographs, and Kurtis’s own photographs. He intentionally threw tins full of rolls of his shot film into the sea and retrieved them to get that specific damaged effect, to reflect the damage and feeling of being washed away as his family’s experience of migration.
In ‘The Town of Tomorrow’, 50 years of Thamesmead’s history have been assembled and preserved. The architecture of the town and its inhabitants are captured by archive material combined with newly commissioned photography by Tara Darby. Original plans, models, postcards, leaflets and newspaper cuttings are presented alongside interviews with local residents. Together with an introductory essay by John Grindrod, the images convey the story of this influential but often misunderstood town, from the dreams and excitement of its ambitious original vision to the complex realities of living there today.
http://www.herepress.org/publications/50-years-of-thamesmead/
Jason Lazurus: ‘Nirvana’
“How were you first introduced to Nirvana?”
A mixture of Jason Lazurus’s own photographs and those sourced from people he interviewed linking to their experience of the band Nirvana: who introduced them to the band? In what point in their life? Linked with a specific experience?
In the photobook itself, Ben Weaver came up with printing so that the photographs overlapped the pages to show the continuous flow of influence and experience with people discovering Nirvana. I find that small shift of traditional presentation of photographs in a book effective in keeping a visual narrative and suggesting a linked community of Nirvana fans.
I really liked Ben Weaver because he geniunely showed interest in not only the publishing process and the creativity involved, but also the actual subject matter of each photo-book from artists and photographers he published.
I think all the photobooks he has helped to create are made with care and creativity, each being in an individual style to the respective artist and subject matter. I would love to work with him if I come up with a substantial photo series that I think would work well in printed form.
oliverclarkephotoppp1 