Benjamin Earl is a Rotterdam-based designer and media artist with an interest in the digitisation of everyday life, the rendering and simulation of physical environments, and digital communication and knowledge sharing practices. In his work he uses moving image and computer programming to create films, installations and performances that reveal entangled narratives and complex power structures.
His work involves looking closely at how life is rendered in digital environments, such as depictions of nature on screen, mass group communication and the precise methods of synchronising clocks around the world. His work has been exhibited at Het Nieuwe Instituut (Rotterdam), Impakt Festival (Utrecht), Bureau Europa (Maastricht), Fibre Festival (Amsterdam) and CIVA Festival (Vienna). He has a BA in Graphic Design from Falmouth University, UK and an MA in Non Linear Narrative from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague.
Design Inquiry Group
The Design Inquiry Group, in which Benjamin is a tutor, is an experimental course that refuses to be defined through a singular practice. Instead, we look to methodologies and knowledge-making practices that involve embodied research whilst also allowing for a critical perspective on the role of the designer in society. The course has been developed by Roosje Klap and Marthe Prins over several years and has involved trips to locations such as Iran and Iceland. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this embodied research was focused more on the direct surroundings of the KABK and involved walking and talking with experts in ecology, technology and communication studies. Benjamin has taught at the Design Inquiry Group since 2021.
Participant of the Design & The Deep Future Research Group 2022-2023