Benjamin Langford

Faux Flower II, 2024

Originally shot in a natural history museum diorama, all elements of the scene in Benjamin Langford’s Faux Flower II (2024) are faux plants. The blurring of the background makes the forms dissolve into a Monet-like field of greens and yellows– meanwhile revealing the primary subject in sharp focus– the flower in the foreground– reveals itself to be a painted, sculpture of a flower– small brushstrokes and seams between elements reveal its true materiality. I’m interested in looking at spaces like this and finding moments that recall something that feels romantic and beautiful and real. This creates an interesting confusion– the object treated with most clarity is a strange false object, while the elements treated with obscurity seem to invite the eye to see it as alive and “real.” Image, paint, real, and diorama blur in this piece and confound expectations about authentic experience and natural beauty. –Benjamin Langford

Inquire