Ben Fayle

Ben Fayle (b.1998) is an emerging Australian artist.

Fayle’s painting practice explores the intricacies of memory, nostalgia, and the ephemeral nature of life. In his work, Fayle has delved into the world of ambiguity through hyper realism.

Fayle found himself drawn to flowers, captivated by their ephemeral nature. These delicate blooms, once vivid in colour and beauty, held their allure even in their dead state.

In his recent work, Fayle chose to drench dead roses in a shroud of black enamel paint. This act of covering allowed the materiality of the enamel to create intricate reflections of light on the surface, transforming the subject into an abstract entity. The viewer is initially drawn into the ambiguity of the artwork, with the flowers becoming a subtle, almost concealed presence. By capturing the flowers while the paint was still wet, the reflective quality of the glistening enamel evokes not only sight but also the elusive scent of the flowers, enticing viewers to engage their senses fully.

Fayle further explored this theme of ephemerality by spraying dead sunflowers with vibrant yellow paint, reinvigorating their surface and highlighting the transformative power of colour. Different colours came to symbolise various aspects of transience. Black was used on the roses to symbolise the unknown and the passage into a void, akin to the concept of memento mori—an ever-present reminder of the inevitability of death. In contrast, he retained the original yellow of the sunflowers, as yellow flowers often have a brief blooming period, symbolising the fleeting nature of life. Working with yellow paint, known for its transparency and complexity, allowed Fayle to play with layers that added depth to the works, representing the accumulation of experiences that contribute to the transient nature of the sunflowers.

In Fayle’s exploration of composition, he chose to split the works into various panels. These pieces were intentionally designed to be viewed individually and together, allowing viewers to appreciate smaller segments or as a whole, to capture a fraction of the complete image. This approach encourages viewers to become immersed in the painting, inviting their eyes to wander, avoiding settling on any single point and encouraging them to interpret and explore the artwork at their own pace. The resulting artworks are open to individual interpretation, an image for personal memories and emotions.