Photo feature: Ben Charles Edwards
The iconic portraits and epic scene-setting photographs of Ben Charles Edwards are set to excite imaginations around the world. He spoke to MARIAN BUCKLEY about his methods and inspirations.
Ben Charles Edwards was born in Middlesex and attended school in Weybridge, Surrey before studying first at the London College of Communication, then at The Surrey Institute and finally at Salisbury Colllege of Art. "I did about a year in each place," he explains. "I went to art college because I wanted to be a painter but one of my teachers suggested photography."
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After graduating, Ben spent some time in LA photographing bands. Back in the UK, he was asked to take photos at Boy George's birthday and met drag queen extraordinaire Jodie Harsh. The pair immediately connected and Ben was invited to take photos for Jodie's new club night Circus. "I love taking photos of Jodie, she knows how to work everything, the make-up is always heavy. I used a lot of airbrushing on the Circus photographs - most people airbrush to get an immaculate feel but I used it to get a trashy feel." Ben's approach is often to capitalise, exaggerate and celebrate colour without shying away from the dark side of subjects. "It's the people," he explains. "There was an underbelly in London when Circus started, with people you only saw at night and only in a few places in London, so there is a documentary element to this."
Many of Ben's photographs start "as a picture in my head, I don't know where they come from, but I see a scene and feel compelled to create it." When Ben photographed designer Zandra Rhodes and artist Andrew Logan, he painted directly onto the canvases the photographs are printed on. "Zandra and Andrew are both talented artists who love colour". Both starred in Ben's recent short film, Eat Your Chiffon. Many of his ideas start "as a picture in my head, I don't know where they come from, but I see a scene and feel compelled to create it." The filmic feel to his shots is intentional. "I love film, and I like looking at a photo and imagining what happened two minutes before it was taken."
Recently, he has worked on promotional work for Natt Weller's Dangerous To Know club nights. "Natt and I met at concert," he explains, "he is peculiar to photograph - he's very elegant definitely brings darker side but he's graceful." Ben shares his time between in London and Woking: "i just like it, it's out of everything, no traffic, little bit more relaxed." He's currently working on a musical film called The Town That Boars Me. "It came to whilst I was in Woking. You look at some of the people there and you'd think that high heels have been outlawed, everyone looks so discoloured and ill - they looked like someone had raided their house and taken away anything of taste." The musical is all about "a town where a man with a pig's face (I am scared shitless of hybrid human animals), who steals women's high heels and make up. Andrew Logan is the butcher and he makes a son out of ham, Dee C Lee plays a preacher." The soundtrack is being co-written with Steve Cradock and the film is set to debut at the Portobello Film Festival (28 August- 14 September 2008).
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