Museum Hanmi presents 𝙍𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨: 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙮, a solo exhibition by Roger Ballen (b. 1950), an artist who has developed a distinctive visual language through the interplay of photography and drawing. The exhibition will be held at Museum Hanmi Samcheong from October 16, 2026, to February 21, 2027.

Born in New York and now based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Roger Ballen is one of the leading figures in contemporary photography. Through his sustained exploration of the unconscious, the inner self, and the margins of society, he reveals how those we avoid or perceive as unfamiliar ultimately reflect aspects of ourselves. Spanning photography, drawing, and installation, his work embodies a distinctive aesthetic known as 'Ballenesque.'

Encompassing more than six decades of Ballen’s practice, this exhibition traces how the relationship between photography and drawing—a defining element of his aesthetic—has evolved from his early documentary work to his recent works. His practice possesses an individuality that cannot be fully explained through established histories of photography, while also revealing a new visual language forged by combining the possibilities of two distinct media. Bringing together major photographic series, etchings, and drawings on Polaroid photographs, the exhibition examines how photography and drawing have influenced and transformed one another, offering a multifaceted view of Ballen’s artistic world that defies classification within a single genre.