Social Structures
Plain English Catalogue
An Exhibition by Benjamin Bannan at Animal House Fine Arts
30th May - 21 June 2025
Catalogue essay available here

This is a photograph of a minimalist art gallery space.
The gallery has clean white walls, a plain concrete floor, and a ceiling with strip lighting.
On the main wall, four small, dark blue rectangular artworks are evenly spaced in a horizontal line.
Another similar artwork hangs on the left-hand wall.
A large white structural column is positioned near the center-right of the space.
The overall atmosphere is sparse and quiet, emphasizing the small, dark artworks against the bright white surroundings.

 

A large white column stands in the middle of the room, partially blocking the view.
On the left wall, next to a plain white door, there are two small square artworks hung side by side, both dark blue in colour.
On the right wall, a single similarly sized blue artwork is displayed above a long, narrow white shelf-like structure that runs horizontally along the wall.
The ceiling is grey with linear grooves and fluorescent lights.

 

This image shows a different angle of the same view depicted above.
On the back wall, a single small dark blue artwork is hung above a long, narrow white rectangular structure that juts out slightly like a shallow shelf.
On the left edge of the image, two more small dark blue artworks can be seen hanging side by side on the adjacent wall.
The overall space is sparse and uncluttered, directing attention to the few artworks on display.

 

This image shows a close-up of the long white rectangular structure attached to the gallery wall.
The end of the structure is open, revealing its hollow wooden framework inside made of light-coloured timber beams neatly joined together, almost like the skeleton of a box. In the background, in the centre of the wall, a small dark blue artwork is visible, mounted above the structure.

On the left is a plain white door with a metal vent near the bottom and a simple lock and handle.
To the right of the door, two small dark blue rectangular artworks hang side by side, each showing faint abstract image.
An arrow facing down on the left, and an arrow facing up on the right.

 
 

Title: Sebastian and Irene with down-up-arrow
Materials: carbon-paper transfer on primed MDF
Dimensions: 29.7 x 21cm

Deep shades of blue in a detailed, shadowy scene with figures, though the forms are partially obscured by a border in the shape of a double headed arrow.

In the centre, the hand of Saint Irene grips a thin arrow.

She is pulling it out of the bent leg of Saint Sebastian. Irene’s faint face can be seen in the upper left corner, tilted downward towards the wounded body.

 
 
 
 
 

Title: Sebastian with up-left-arrow
Materials: carbon-paper transfer on primed MDF
Dimensions: 29.7 x 21cm

The image is partially hidden by a shadow shaped like an arrow.
It depicts a figure lying diagonally across the frame with an arm outstretched.
A long arrow arrow pierces the centre of the forearm.
At the top, a faint decorative border can be seen, suggesting the edge of a frame of a painting.
The overall effect is subtle and moody, with the subject only gradually emerging from the dark background.

 

Title: Sebastian with down-left-arrow
Materials: carbon-paper transfer on primed MDF
Dimensions: 29.7 x 21cm

An arrow pierces through the flesh of Saint Sebastian’s bent leg, positioned diagonally across the image.
Draped fabric with intricate folds and patterns covers part of a hunched Saint Sebastian.
The patterns of the fabric are highlighted in brighter blue, while the rest of the image blends into the darkness.

 

Title: Sebastian and soldier with down-arrow
Materials: carbon-paper transfer on primed MDF
Dimensions: 29.7 x 21cm

At the centre, three upright arrows and a foot are clearly visible, silhouetted against a lighter vertical background.
There is a dark silhouette of a soldier holding the arrows on the right-side.
The composition is framed by the faint outline of a much larger arrow shape pointing downward.
This larger arrow is not as sharply defined but emerges gradually from the surrounding darkness.
The reclining legs of Saint Sebastian appear in the foreground.

 

Title: Sebastian with left-right-arrow
Materials: carbon-paper transfer on primed MDF
Dimensions: 29.7 x 21cm

In the centre, there’s a arrow form pointing sideways, left and right, lighter in tone against the darker background.
This arrow overlays a falling figure with draped fabric over their groin, barely visible through the dense blue surface.
An arrow enters the waist of the figure from both sides.

 

Benjamin Bannan in conversation with Chelsea Hopper