Finding New Babylon: A Conversation with Actor Benny O. Arthur

sweater by Dries Van Noten
jeans by Y/Project
belt by Saint Laurent


interview by Camille Ange Pailler
photography by Riccardo Meroni
styling by Ina Witzel
talent Benny O. Arthur @ Martensgarten 
hair & makeup by Simona Parrella
production by Pier Guccione Prata @ Residenza Production
light assistance by Leonardo Galeotti
styling assistance by Typhaine Porta 


CAMILLE ANGE PAILLER: When did you discover your love of acting, and what inspired you to pursue it as a career?

BENNY O. ARTHUR: You know, I’ve always had a love for storytelling. I was a very observant kid and would always watch people at school, or on the train, and try to imitate them and their mannerisms. I also used to love playing with my sister’s dolls. I would create characters and stories with them that I would perform for my family. There was a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when I created and played out these storylines, because in my head, it was as though I had just made a movie. I also have to credit my mom for this, I guess we can call it motherly intuition, because without any connection or access to that field, she signed me up for local theater programs when I was in third grade. She didn’t grow up watching a ton of movies or going to the theater, but somehow she just knew. I was fourteen when I took part in my first professional theater production at the Deutsche Opera Berlin. It was super exciting seeing how what had started in my bedroom with my sister’s toys suddenly happened in real life on such a large scale. When I graduated from high school, I realized that an acting career was something that I seriously wanted and could pursue. But yeah, I think maybe I’ve always kind of known.

PAILLER: What has been your most memorable role or project so far, and why?

ARTHUR: I’ve been fortunate to have worked on some really cool projects, but so far, I’d have to say that the series Django, which premiered on Sky earlier this year, has to be the most memorable. I had never really envisioned myself being in a Western, let alone playing a cowboy because I had only ever really encountered this genre through a white perspective that left out stories of cowboys of color. What really drew me to this story was this new perspective and the potential for stories from these kinds of individuals that were very much present in that era. It was such a privilege to get to work with an incredibly talented cast from all over Europe. Being in the midst of Matthias Schoenaerts, Nicholas Pinnock, Lisa Vicari, and Noomi Rapace, and just being able to learn from each one of them by watching them work is something I am really grateful for.

 

blouse, belt & jeans by Saint Laurent

 

dress by De Pino
leather pants & shoes by Saint Laurent

blouse, belt & leather pants by Saint Laurent

PAILLER: Tell me about Django and your role as Kevin.

ARTHUR: Django was a really special project. The series is a reimagining of Sergio Corbucci’s classic Spaghetti Western character. The series tries to show more perspectives of different people in that period—the minorities, and the world they created for themselves after the American Civil War. I played the role of Kevin Ellis, son of John Ellis, who is the visionary founder of an idealistic city called New Babylon. It’s a community that welcomes all outcasts and people of different races and creeds as equals. When we meet Kevin, he is his father’s number one advocate. He believes uncompromisingly in his vision. Our parents are often like superheroes to us when we’re kids, and it’s only as we get older that we recognize their humanity and their flaws. As John’s youngest son, Kevin has a youthful and hopeful worldview, which eventually brings him into conflict with the harsh realities of the Wild West. The idealistic image he has of his father begins to crumble as he comes to terms with the fact that even our heroes harbor darkness.

PAILLER: What do you enjoy most about being an actor?

ARTHUR: There is so much out there in the world, it can be quite daunting to think that you only get to live one life. You can find yourself doubting your decisions and questioning if the path that you’re on is the right one, or if there’s something that you’re missing out on. But as an actor, your life kind of revolves around letting yourself face and live through the realities, emotions, and experiences of so many different lives, different jobs, different time periods, perspectives, mentalities, and cultures. It’s one of the most enriching jobs out there because you learn to see not just through your own eyes, but also through those that may be in complete contradiction to your own.

jeans by Y/Project

jeans & denim jacket by Y/Project

PAILLER: Were there any particular actors that inspired you during your childhood?

ARTHUR: I don’t know if as a child I really looked to the actors very much. But as I have gotten older and gained more perspective for the craft, I have really come to love and appreciate the work of actors like Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis, Albrecht Schuch, and Félix Maritaud, to name a few. I also always get super inspired and excited about the new young talent that emerges like in Lukas Dhont’s Close.

 

pants & shoes by Situationist

 

PAILLER: Can you share any upcoming projects or roles you are currently working on or have lined up?

ARTHUR: I’m really excited about a feature film titled Wake Up, which we shot on the Canary Islands last year and is set to come out sometime later this year, as well as another Sky original Series with an incredible German cast. Definitely keep a lookout!

coat by Saint Laurent

Wish You Were Here: An Interview of Heather Agyepong on Her Exhibition at the Centre for British Photography

 

The Body Remembers, Le Cake-Walk, Wish You Were Here, 2020 © Heather Agyepong

 

interview by Lara Monro
self-portraits by Heather Agyepong

On Thursday 26 January The Centre for British Photography will open for the first time. Founded by the gallerist and philanthropist, James Hyman, the charitable organization will present free, self-generated exhibitions as well as those led by independent curators and organizations championing the work of British photographers. 

Hyman explains: “We hope that through this initial showcase to make a home for British photography we can, in the long run, develop an independent centre that is self-sustaining with a dedicated National Collection and public program.”

There will be two leading exhibitions, organized in partnership with Fast Forward Photography. Headstrong: Women and Empowerment celebrates photographers based in Britain who have made work concerned with how they are represented, what they are dealing with in their everyday lives and what it means to embrace diversities that challenge the conservative order of a patriarchal society. And, Images of the English at Home takes the viewer on a journey from the street, up the front steps, and into the private spaces of the living room, kitchen and bedroom before sending them out into the back garden. 

Alongside the exhibitions, The Centre will spotlight five British photographers as part of an In Focus display; Natasha Caruana, Jo Spence, Andrew Bruce, Anna Fox and Heather Agyepong. 

Autre’s London editor-at-large, Lara Monro, spoke with the multidisciplinary artist, Heather Agyepong, to discuss her body of work, Wish You Were Here. Commissioned by The Hyman Collection in 2019, the series explores the work of Aida Overton Walker, the celebrated African American vaudeville performer who challenged the rigid and problematic narratives of Black performers. 

LARA MONRO: Wish You Were Here pays homage to the work of Aida Overton Walker who was known as the Queen of the Cake-Walk. How and when did you first come across Walker’s work, and can you tell me more about the Cake-Walk?

HEATHER AGYEPONG: I came across the word Cake-Walk in a script I was reading, googled it, and saw a video of this dance with Black performers doing this high-kicked, structured dance but later found out that it was originally to mock slave owners. I thought to myself, there is a project there. A few weeks later, James Hyman wanted to meet to commission me for some work and proceeded to pour out these postcards of cake walk dancers! Some of the depictions were beautiful but a lot were racist and pretty disgusting. We later discovered someone called Aida Overton Walker who reimagined the dance and was celebrated as a Black, female performer who reclaimed the dance and filled it with grace, preciousness, and technicality. She was my anchor into the work, the woman I felt was calling out to me at the time to reclaim and take space.

Anne Mae,  Le Cake-Walk, Wish You Were Here, 2020 © Heather Agyepong

MONRO: Your images are layered with symbolism to illicit a conversation about the boundaries of how we see ourselves both in real and imagined realities. Can you tell me more about this and your specific use of symbolism?

AGYEPONG: A lot of the work is centered around pop culture references, memes, gifs and song lyrics very much present within the Black diasporic experience. For example, the triptych Anne Mae is a reference to the gif of Annalise Keating (played by Viola Davis) where she left a disrespectful conversation by rolling her eyes and taking her bag. For me especially as an actor, seeing a dark-skinned, Black woman know her worth and saying “No” unapologetically felt like something I wanted to channel for myself. The themes of the work focus on ownership, giving oneself grace and acknowledging the challenges of navigating creative spaces as a Black art maker. 

MONRO: As well as concepts of ownership and entitlement, the series explores mental wellbeing. Can you talk me through how you explored these themes through your images?

AGYEPONG: At the time of making the work, I was feeling a little lost and overwhelmed. My first major photographic series did really well (Too Many Blackamoors) but I kept being told to make work about race in a particular way. I was thinking two things: how do I make this career sustainable and survive? but how do I also retain my integrity and my intentions of making work to better understand myself? Overton Walker was the light at that moment; someone who survived and made a mark in an incredibly hostile environment where only limited embodiments of Black bodies were allowed on stage. She subverted, agitated, and pushed the boundaries of her limitations. Without figures like her, I wouldn't be where I am now. So, to honor that, I better damn well use my will as freely as possible.

 

Caucasian Chalk Circle, Le Cake-Walk, Wish You Were Here, 2020 © Heather Agyepong