Statement of Work
I grew up large, queer, and weird in a small town in southwest Ohio. I stick out in every single crowd I have ever been in. Whether it is from friends and family, or just regular responsibility, I have spent a large portion of my life trying, and failing to hide. I have used and abused many things in an effort to escape from my reality, all of which worked, but only for a short time.
I have struggled with mental illness, loneliness, intimacy, and alienation throughout my life. My upbringing and environment made it very difficult for me to properly communicate my feelings to others. I have spent a lifetime pushing people away. My work is a way of forcing myself and others to confront reality. I use my work to communicate feelings that I am unable to express and to forge new connections with the world around me.
My works are experiments in oversharing and trial periods of deep discomfort.
They consist of three parts: made object, projected video, and sound. These three pieces work in concert to form an experiential language that allows me to communicate with the viewer. Made objects serve as tethers, at once grounding my work in physical reality, while also allowing the viewer to spool out as far as they desire. Video provides an emotive focus, drawing the viewer's attention and maintaining it throughout their interaction with my work. Sound shapes the atmosphere, setting the tone and priming the audience for the experience that I wish to communicate.
Biography
Benjamin BoneZone (They/Them) is a nonbinary sculptor based in Baltimore, Maryland. They hold a BFA in Sculpture from Miami University and an MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Born in Akron, Ohio, and eventually moving with their family to Oxford, Ohio, BoneZone began to explore woodworking and metalworking as a means of stress relief and a creative outlet. Their interest in craft grew as they entered college, leading them to enroll in printmaking, drawing, and sculpture courses. Eventually BoneZone settled on sculpture, seeing it as a way to capitalize on their interest in making and learn how to use the objects they create to communicate and commune with the world around them.
BoneZone's primary interest in art is the translation of personal experience from one individual to another. Their works discuss issues of mental health, loneliness, disassociation, and compartmentalization. BoneZone's works serve as conduits which create a space for connection and mutual understanding. Their artistic practice revolves around the creation of immersive spaces that facilitate meaningful interactions between the artist and the viewer. Their immersive installations incorporate made objects, video, and sound to engage viewers in a direct dialogue with the ultimate goal of changing the way the viewer thinks about and interacts with the world around them.
In 2022 Benjamin was named a Perna Krick ' 31 and Reuben Kramer '32 Fellow and in 2023 they were awarded the Amalie Rothschild ‘34 Rinehart Fellowship.