Ben Russell

 Ben Russell (1976, United States) is an artist, filmmaker, and curator based in Marseille. His work is located at the intersection of experimental cinema, visual anthropology, and documentary images. He has exhibited at documenta 14 (2017) and his work has been shown at the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, and Tate Modern, as well as in prestigious festivals, including the Mostra in Venice and the Berlinale. At the same time, he pursues curatorial activity with projects such as Magic Lantern (Providence, RI, USA, 2005–07), BEN RUSSELL (Chicago, USA, 2009–11), Hallucinations (Athens, Greece, 2017), and Double Vision (Marseille, France, 2024–).

His residency project combines writing, research, and developing a non-fiction film/installation entitled Le Fantôme souriant (The Smiling Ghost), a work that reimagines the contemporary ruins of Rome through the eyes of a ghost. From the underground network of Rome’s abandoned historical sites to the above-ground reconstructions of ancient Rome, from the decrepitude of modern stadiums to the dynamic squats of the Centri Sociali Occupati Autogestiti, his project seeks to discover the forms through which the present reframes, transforms, and inhabits the past.