Retro: Activism

Internationally acclaimed Ballarat illustrator, Ben Sanders, is holding an exhibition, Retro: Activism, at the Museum of Australian Democracy in Ballarat (M.A.D.E) from 12 February to 23 March 2014.

Illustrations from the exhibition focus on hard-hitting, global issues including slavery, consumerism, climate change and terrorism and resonate powerfully with M.A.D.E's central theme: democracy.

Some of the works featured are yet to be seen in Australia and have received worldwide critical acclaim including being featured in highly-regarded publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Colombia Journalism Review, Australian Geographic and the Australian Financial Review's BOSS Magazine.

Sanders will also give an artist's talk on 2 March at 2.30pm covering the conceptual process of tackling issues in a visual medium and his impending move to Bolivia where he will use his drawing skills to assist at The Tarpuy children's curriculum project, a first-of-its-kind indigenous educational program based in Tarija.

"The issues in Retro: Activism are everywhere in the media and there is a risk of us becoming immune to them - ignoring these humanitarian issues makes us less human.

'Representing them in a new medium can cause people to think differently about them, and hopefully inspire action," says Sanders.

Sanders has been a Ballarat resident since the age of 6, and after a stretch in the world of advertising where he worked on high budget TV commercials and print campaigns as an art director, Sanders returned to both illustrating and his home town in 2006,  launching his own business, The Milk Agency.

To date, Sanders has received many accolades including two gold wins at the 2011 Illustrators Australia Awards for the Advertising Single and Editorial Series categories and most recently a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation -Records for Life' award nomination which gave him the opportunity  to showcase his work alongside the work of major global design agencies.

"I like my artwork to be straightforward. There is no point in communicating in a way that is mysterious, but I also don't want to slap people in the face with the message. It's a visual balancing act" says Sanders.

Most recently Sanders has been writing children's books inspired by his two youngsters. The first, -I've an Uncle Ivan' has been short-listed for the international AOI awards in the UK and was a hit at the Warsaw International Book Show; the second -You could wear that Hat!' is well underway.