Benedict Johnson

Benedict Johnson is an artist working with photography, film and video and digital video.  He has created projects for a number of high profile spaces including The Whitechapel, Serpentine and Chisenhale Galleries.  He recently founded Future Vision Project, a collective of artists, photographers and designers working to push the boundaries of fully integrated audio-visual performance.

Metal has been developing a relationship with Benedict throughout the whole of this year, specifically to work with him on Metal’s continuing investigation into effective methods of evaluating mentoring relationships, residencies and projects which give validity to anecdote and experience through story telling, personal testimony, creative video techniques and image-led evidence.

The way in which Benedict approaches his work with a camera has enabled Metal to develop a number of key ideas for ways of working with groups of artists and individuals.  As well as working with other artist’s at Metal in direct, creative collaborations he has also been investigating ways of documenting their artistic journey’s and experiences. 

Benedict has also been working with Metal to develop documentation techniques, in other contexts, such as professional development and creative training (with Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Riverside Housing Associaton and Unilever).

“I think its the intangibles that seem to be the most constant and the most appealing. Its difficult to talk about these without sounding like I've just joined a cult but these intangibles have something to do with cooking, family, out of hours phonecalls and the Jubilee line.  Metal is a vacuum; it sucks you in and you expand.”  Benedict Johnson, artist