FRANK BENSON
When I was offered the opportunity to create a show for Downstairs Projects I decided to approach the exhibition and the interview printed in the accompanying zine as a personal investigation into my own relationship with photography. While my work is primarily based in sculpture, photography has been vital to my development as an artist and I thought it would be useful to explore my connection to the medium. After reviewing my archive of photographs and answering the questions posed to me in the interview, I came to the realization that my core interest in photography lies simply in a basic need to frame and document my own sculpture. I had tried several different photographic strategies throughout my career, but I ultimately found them unfulfilling - it was not enough for me to photograph the existing world or directly appropriate a pre-existing image - I needed to have a hand in the creation and staging of the subject in front of the camera as well.