Lakes, Lords & Queens

Bobby Benjamin

About the Artist and the Work

Bobby Benjamin is an English artist, curator, gallery director, lecturer and writer based in Teesside. Having grown up in Redcar, this exhibition marks the first time he has returned to display work in his hometown.

Benjamin’s work, predominantly produced using found objects, explores themes of place, masculine identity and class. Through his practice, Benjamin aims to challenge hegemony and industry inequality. Using reoccurring motifs and ‘Easter eggs’, he creates a juxtaposition between his experiences of council estate life and the professional art world in which he works.

In this new body of work, the artist deviates from the large-scale sculptures and installations with which he is commonly associated and embraces a ‘kitchen-table’ methodology and aesthetic. 

This series of smaller-scale, expanded field paintings sees the artist take a playful and experimental approach to documenting his own lived experiences while agitating our collective, hierarchical interpretations of culture.