Ben Gregg

Disarray

My work is about everything that I experience. Within this everything, there is nothing. You could say that the work is not about anything but you could also say that it is about everything. There is meaninglessness inside of its own meaning, and within this facade of meaninglessness is where I find the most comfort.

I often find myself using my work to hide. Life can feel absurd and bewildering, kind of like the language used in the first few sentences of this artist statement. I mean, did any of that make sense? That is part of the work. If you can confuse everyone hard enough with things that are nonsensical, those people are then less equipped to ask you uncomfortable questions (not to mention the fact that nonsense dabbling can be a very fun activity).

All jokes aside, hiding is an integral aspect of my art practice. I find myself drawn to things that are bewildering in the same way I am drawn to long periods of time in my cold dark bedroom. However, hiding is only one part of it. The rest is a jumble of things including the dipping of toes into a pool of vulnerability.

The difficult thing about this is that when you use your art practice as a form of therapy, you are forced to share this aspect of it with everyone who views or engages with the work, and maybe I am conflicted about whether or not I want people to peer inside. I believe this is a sentiment that is shared among many people, and what I want to highlight in my practice at the moment is this act of constant second guessing, an eternal timidity; something that is simultaneously repelling and attracting itself to a leaden ego in the same way that a fetus is connected to a womb.

ben-gregg.com

@starfish_leg