Ben Jay Crossman is a Britishborn South African raised graffiti-style

street artist A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acroba ...

concept artist Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in films, video games, animation, comic books, or other media before it is put into the final product. Concept art usually refers to world-building artwork used to inspire the de ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

, photographer,

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

, and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

, known for his collaborations with

Roger Ballen Roger Ballen (born April 11, 1950) is an American artist living in Johannesburg, South Africa, and working in its surrounds since the 1970s. His oeuvre, which spans five decades, began with the documentary photography field but evolved into the ...

and

Die Antwoord Die Antwoord (, Afrikaans for "The Answer") is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008. The group comprises rappers Watkin Tudor "Ninja" Jones and Anri "Yolandi Visser" du Toit, a male/female duo, and producers H ...

Works

Veronika

Between 2010 and 2015, Crossman painted his graffiti-style street art under the

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

‘a boy named Veronika’. A short film about ‘a boy named Veronika’, directed by Crossman, created for the

48 Hour Film Project The 48 Hour Film Project is an annual film competition in which teams of filmmakers are assigned a genre, a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue, and have 48 hours to create a short film containing those elements. The competition has been ac ...

Johannesburg 2012, achieved second place overall as well as awards for editing, special effects, and sound design.

Streets of Fietas

Between 2010 and 2012, Crossman filmed and released ‘The Streets of Fietas’. The three part short series follows the lives of those who contribute to and are affected by the vicious cycle of poverty, crime, and drug use in

Fietas Pageview is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Populated by non-whites, predominantly Indians, until the 1970s, it was one of two adjacent suburbs (Pageview, ...

, one of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

’s poorest suburbs.

Van Coke Kartel

In 2013 Crossman filmed and directed music videos for

Van Coke Kartel Van Coke Kartel is an Afrikaans alternative rock band from Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. Band history Francois Van Coke and Wynand Myburgh formed Van Coke Kartel with drummer Justin Kruger after Fokofpolisiekar went on hiatus in 200 ...

, ‘Sweef’ featuring ‘Odd Art’, and ‘Chaos’ featuring

Jack Parow Zander Tyler (born February 22, 1982), better known under his stage name Jack Parow, is a South African rapper who has collaborated with other South African artists such as Die Heuwels Fantasties, Die Antwoord and Francois Van Coke. Career P ...

Roger Ballen

Working in collaboration with

on his multi-year art project in the slums of South Africa, Crossman directed, filmed and edited Roger Ballen's Asylum of the Birds (2014) and Roger Ballen's Outland (2015).

Die Antwoord

Between 2009 and 2016, Crossman worked with and toured with

as art curator, photographer and videographer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crossman, Ben Jay Living people South African artists Street artists Graffiti artists 1979 births