The Remnants of Early Modern Humans

by Ben Topping

Ben uses traditional printmaking and sculpting techniques, such as etching and casting, to explore processes of erosion and ruination. He begins by visiting historic sites and castles, observing and drawing the ruins, before copying, scanning, printing and re-printing the image, as it deteriorates like the buildings themselves. 

Remnants of the past manifest in scattered boulders, skeletal stonework, and abandoned monoliths stubbornly passing through time, wearing their history across ruined surfaces.

Each element of my artworks responds to the nature of ruination. I interpret and manipulate weathered stone buildings, emulating sporadic erosion through my creative interventions, to visually capture a moment in time that can speak to both a rich history of civilisation and spark imagination into the deep future.

I subject my drawings and photographs of castle ruins located in Corfe to experimental practices in printmaking and sculpture, exploring the potentials of combining traditional methods and techniques, like etching, aquatint, and bronze casting, alongside contemporary materials and processes that include photogrammetry and 3D print.

I am drawn to investigating a material’s history, often considering how it has been used overtime and what it may represent. Distorting the ruin through multiple processes, materials, and scales confronts the viewer with an unstable timeline. By bridging familiar construction methods with newer technologies as a form of world building, I hint at a history of human activity and a potential future of how these material uses may exist in the landscape in years to come.

The Remnants of Early Modern Humans was on display in the windows of the Hidden Wardrobe from Friday 21st June until Sunday 4th August.

Head to ‘a space’ arts YouTube Channel to watch the digital exhibition guide.