Show Ponies – Benjamin Werner
OUTSIDE IN PROGRAM – BRISBANE
Benjamin Werner’s new solo exhibition SHOW PONIES opens at 19karen Gallery on the gold coast in October and centers around the familiar imagery of Film and Celebrity Aussie bad boys “Chopper” Read, Mad Max and Ned Kelly with other works depicting that Britney/Paris/Car incident, Ben himself as a bare knuckled fighting Ned Kelly with tattoos and some of his Biker mates in their skull masks.
The large works all painted in oil on canvas with a quick and expressionist hand poke fun at, joke with and also show a high regard for the characters represented through his empathy and understanding of the subject matter . The show also consists of museum cases containing various hair samples such as Ben’s own cut off plait, Neds beard and other objects that are linked to each of the paintings and referencing the ever growing phenomena of celebrity related collections, an edited video work of the artist plaiting his “PONEY” tail for the last time before it was cut off also plays on loop for the duration of the show.