Ben DiNino
Minneapolis, MN
https://www.bendinino.com

THIS SIDE TOWARD SCREEN
2024
Mixed media limited edition book and box set
Cardboard, chipboard, paper, book board, bookcloth, PVA adhesive, binding thread, matte board, PET transparency film, LED screen, and cord
7.5″ x 7.5″ x 5″

Artist Statement

In my work I strive to shed light on the overlooked or discarded; those items or places that are forgotten or slightly out of focus in the background. By highlighting their existence or reconfiguring them into something unique I hope to breathe new life into these neglected images and objects. The majority of my artistic practice recently has centered on collage, book art, and assemblage. I endeavor to prolong the life of these outdated how-to manuals, old magazines, snap shots, slide film, and any other materials I‘m able to cut up and reassemble. This is also a challenge since I force myself to create something visually interesting or confusing out of what can at times be banal source material. This is what truly excites me when I work. Sitting down with old liquor advertisements or an outdated interior design magazine and experimenting with the images in an attempt to push the limitations of the source material I’m using.

This piece is a limited edition book and box set I created to highlight my collages made from slide and negative film. The book features over 130 of these works from the last 5 years. I hand cut and assembled every element of the book using a tortoise-shell binding. Each set includes 10 random enlarged replica slides of the original work. These imitation slides are printed on PET transparency film, not slide film. I hand cut and silk screened all the slide mounts copying vintage designs from my collection. I’ve included an LED screen to more easily view the slides. I also designed and assembled the entire box to mimic a 1970s slide container. This piece was made as an edition of 10. Besides being a document of these specific celluloid based collage works, I also hope that the entire design pays homage to the look of vintage photographic material.

There are 3 types of collages featured in the work. “Slide Overlays” are pieces created by sandwiching two slides in a slide mount creating a new visual narrative. “Slide Collages” are created like a traditional paper collage. I cut them up and reassemble the pieces in slide mounts. The third type of work is my “Negative Collages” which are cut and collaged like the slide collages, except they use film negatives as source material. I have to use intuition and luck to create these negative based works since I can’t see their final look until they are scanned into a positive image.