Oregon Contemporary is thrilled to present Ben Buswell: This Land. The exhibition is part of Site, a series of site-specific large-scale solo exhibitions by artists of the Pacific Northwest. 

“Man should not be able to see his own face. Nothing is more terrible than that. Nature gave him the gift of being unable either to see his face or to look into his own eyes. He could only see his own face in the waters of rivers and lakes. Even the posture he had to adopt to do so was symbolic. He had to bend down, to lower himself, in order to commit the ignominy of seeing his own face. The creator of the mirror poisoned the human soul.” ― Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition

This Land presents new work by Ben Buswell which continues his inquiry into place and self, in part, as a response to the notions of both American Manifest Destiny and Exceptionalism. The centerpiece of the exhibition is an expansive floor piece, a mirrored landscape that despite its reflective surface disallows the viewer to catch sight of their own image. As in the artist’s past work, reflection, or more specifically, the denial of reflection, creates a metaphorical space questioning the relationship between location and how one sees oneself. 

Similarly, the titular photographic work in the exhibition is a visualization of data points (violence rates, income levels, federal money, etc.), collected and reimagined through simple physical acts in an effort to “see” the nation without preconceptions. For Buswell, the self is not separate from locality or the causal network of influence it inhabits, nor is it defined by them either. For him, this location/dislocation allows for a freedom to recognize the Other and thereby establish a leveling of hierarchies.

From the artist: “I want to collapse space through empathy in order to give our position in that space potential for a greater understanding, particularly in our relations with others. In turn, our perceptions become more emotional and therefore enhance our awareness. Think of it like returning the gaze of a hiker on a cliff above where you’re standing, telescoping that connectivity to close the gap between both parties so that you might then recognize yourself through the shared gaze. That displacement is expansive.”

In This Land, Buswell makes his most direct assertion that we have agency and responsibility in how we choose to interpret and manifest the self inside of the vast web of influences we inhabit. Land, as a primary cultural locator, is seen abstracted, unfocused, hostile to engaging in our drive for ownership and definition. This land is telling us to refocus and reframe our expectations as reflections of things that are not only the self.

The artist would like to thank: Patrick Collier, Dean Wiiloughby, Elliott Pearson, Alisa Wurst, Rose Brooks, Patrick Leyshock, The Industrial Arts Tool Library, Oregon Contemporary volunteers, and Petra Sairanen for their advice, assistance and continued support.

Curated by: Blake Shell and Dustin Williams
Venue: Oregon Contemporary
On View: April 4 – July 6, 2025
Photos by Mario Gallucci