The Scorpion and the Frog
Ben T. Brown, 2009, HD, New York, New York, USA
This work attempts to document the space between natural and mechanical worlds through experiments with language and perception. Through the use of a "natural code" that is based on the structure of RNA, a story has been translated into colors, sounds, and letters. Fables, parables, and allegories, which often express moral content through described interactions between nature, are a source of inspiration for this body of work. These distorted forms of imaginative literature are constructed in such a way that viewers may metaphorically and physiologically experience the literal surface of the fiction.
Ben Thorp Brown is an artist and documentary filmmaker from Brooklyn, NYC. He works primarily with photography and video installation and uses strategies from documentary, journalism, and science to engage with specific histories in an attempt to observe and alter their effects. His work has appeared on the NYTimes, Wall Street Journal, Discovery Channel, WNET, CurrentTV, and the Sundance Channel and various international film festivals. He was the Leonhardt Cassullo Video Fellow at Creative Time from 2008-2009. He graduated from Williams College in 2006. www.benthorpbrown.com
