Ben Parker

About

He is fascinated by telling stories through photos and using the medium as a means to escape the everyday. The idea of 'Wonderfully Mundane' was born as a simple project carried out for his Master’s degree, initially focusing on documenting petrol stations and corner shops around Birmingham. These locations, standing out in the night urban landscape with harsh daylight, created a capsule, a world unaffected by the darkness of night.

Over the course of a year, Ben documented every independent petrol station and corner shop he could find, spending many nights driving the streets of Birmingham with his camera and lighting kit. Progressing the project, he decided to incorporate people into the frame, aiming to bring attention to the unnoticed scenes in the mundane. 'Wonderfully Mundane' evolved into an exploration of combining fantastical, out-of-the-ordinary elements with everyday locations, such as the corner shop or the local chippy.

One notable series within 'Wonderfully Mundane' revolves around the age-old story/rivalry of the chicken and the fox. Ben used these characters as his main subjects, placing them in locations he had previously documented in his local area. The goal was to draw the viewer's attention to seemingly mundane scenes, using open-ended narrative and humour to create cinematic and eye-catching images. This open narrative series encourages viewers to interpret the images and create their own stories, engaging them on a deeper level with the work.

Ben's childhood involved extensive travel with his family, as his parents worked in Bolivia, South America. Birmingham, with its multicultural and diverse environment, felt like home to him. As he developed his own style of photography and image-making, he used Birmingham and its quirks as his subjects. While he doesn't have a specific favourite place to photograph, he recommends keeping an eye out for quirky independent corner shops, as they often hold fascinating stories, from old products left in the windows to peeling posters from 2010, and the intriguing personalities that run them.