Sculpture, Assemblage, Bricollage
I’m a constructivist at heart, building & assembling found materials into new narratives using the idea of signs & perceptions to create representational images. From the moment I began making art I have seen the semiotic quality of objects and the narratives they can create through assemblage.
Faggot & Other LGBTQ2+ Stories, Satellite Project Space, July 21-31, 2021
“Faggot.” It’s an insidious, hate filled word meant to degrade. It’s a utilitarian object of sticks and rope with multiple uses. It is the material and narrative that forms the foundation of this exhibition and reflects both the public and private hurt many in the LGBTQ2+ community experience too often. It also reflects my artistry as a Bricoleur and Social Justice Activist with these themes drawn from my own public and private life. In addressing ‘Faggot’ as a theme, I am addressing the unequal power imbalance between those heaving and those receiving its signifying message – suggesting an object to be burned and destroyed – in spite of recent social changes including gay marriage and human rights recognition.
As a self-proclaimed London Regionalist, in this exhibition I am also tying myself to that language and history. In this way this exhibit is as much about history as it is about reclaiming language, including my history as a gay man and as an artist, and my place and role in each. What I have come to understand of this journey, my journey, is captured in the words of Casey Legler (The Guardian, 15 July 2017) who writes:
“’Faggot’ are beautiful, magical, brave humans who have overcome the loss of an entire generation of their elders to HIV and AIDS and who have, despite this, approached life with resilience, grace, and class, despite opposition, beratement, beatings, oppression, and exclusion from their families, their kin, their jobs, and their homes. They are some of the most beautiful human beings I know, who have overcome huge adversity and grief, with their hearts intact and smiles in their eyes. And so being called a faggot is, in fact, a compliment of the highest order.












Art Skate Canada, The Arts Project, March 11 – 17, 2013
This skate was produces during Skate Canada 2013 as a fund raising effort for The Arts Project, London, Ontario. During the event it was used extensively for marketing and promotion of the event, and received international media attention.
![Yazaru Hanyu, 2013 [SOLD]](https://benbenedict.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ArtSkateCanada_YazaruHanyu_BenBenedict_March2013LR-199x300.jpg)
Generating Voices 2
McIntosh Gallery, Western University, June 16-July 31, 1994
This was my first professional exhibition.

Assembled Found Objects
37w x 76h x 20d Inches

Assembled Found Objects
10w x 72h x 18d Inches

Assembled Found Objects
18w x 72h x 6d Inches
Community Living London
A Chair Affair
These works were donated and sold as a fundraising effort for Community Living London.
![Floating Down the Historic Thames River, 2008 [SOLD]](https://benbenedict.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/FloatingDownTheHistoricThame-River_BenBenedict_2008LR.jpg)
![Boys Will Be Boys, 2005 [SOLD]](https://benbenedict.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Boys-Will-Be-Boys_BenBenedict_2005LR.jpg)
![Black Spindle Corner Chair with Foot Stool, 1991 [SOLD]](https://benbenedict.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/BlackSpindleChair_BenBenedict_1991LR-141x300.jpg)
Sculptures – Old & New

Acrylic on Found and Assembled Boards
48w x 33h x 3d Inches

Acrylic on 12 Hand Hewn Logs, Rope, and Clamp
72w x 15h x 15d Irregular Inches

Acrylic on 24 Hand Hewn Logs, Sisal Rope, Refubrished Fireplace Grate
7h x 24w x 12d Irregular Inches

Acrylic on 12 Hand Hewn Logs, Silk Cord, Jeweled Buckle, Refurbished Fireplace Grate with Brass Hardware
13h x 13d x 19w Inches

Assembled Found Boards
15w x 42h x 2d Inches

Assembled Found Objects
18w x 36h Inches

Assembled Found Objects
17w x 24h Inches