Sarah Ball 'Accused Part 2'

S a r a h B a l l | A c c u s e d Pa rt 2

Introduction 

What does a portrait represent? Can a portrait ever claim to capture the identity 

of the sitter beyond the superfiscial? Albert Einstein once stated; “A human 

being is a part of the whole, called by us Universe... We experience ourselves, 

our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of 

optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us...” 

So how can the artist hope to represent that which remains out of reach? A 

portrait therefore can only represent an attempt to breach ones own prison. It 

can inspire a glimpse out (of ourselves) and propel us towards a glimpse in (to 

another). This attempt to connect paints a picture in part of disconnection; the 

bridge to cross is one of empathy. Sarah Ball’s paintings taken from mug shot 

photographs enforce this notion in an intriguing way. 

Photography creates an immediate perception of character and so the identity 

of the object is a product of that instant perception. With mug shot’s there 

are relatively few ‘tells’ due to an insisted inherent expressive blankness on the 

face of the accused. They are not memorabilia, not sentimental, not imbued 

or weighted by emotion, they are the opposite of what photographs often 

represent – What do we notice in the absence of such freighted theatricality 

– isolation, defiance, vulnerability, truth? The only clue, the only other thing 

that we have to make our judgment on this person is that they are perhaps a 

criminal – in the absence of all else it is the sum of who they are – is this 

enough to complete our picture? This is frequently the case for Ball also, 

who often knows little else of the subject or their fate, so unlike the painter 

who can sit with the subject and attempt through discourse or familiarity to 

reveal a truth, all Ball has is the silent engagement with her own processes of 

1

sympathetic identification. She claims that the objective is not simply in 

searching for a figurative likeness, but the essence to make the painting right. 

This exhibition is a continuation of a body of work, the first part of which 

was exhibited at Millennium last year. It focuses more specifically on groups 

of people; from civil rights movement activists, fire raisers (members of the 

KKK) and poisoners alongside people whose crimes were suspicious, dangerous 

or simply unknown. Some of the crimes are despicable whilst others may have 

been heroic. The collective creates a very human portrait, of the shifting nature 

of right and wrong. Enforcing the changing subjectivity of judgment - these 

portraits challenge us to move beyond our own positive or negative judgments, 

if that is possible? 

Controversial film maker David Cronenberg stated; “As an artist you look into 

yourself to understand the human potential to be all kinds of things that are 

not necessarily pleasant but are real - a criminal, a murderer, a sadist, a rapist; 

to be all of these things that many people are. You can’t allow yourself to say, 

‘I’m a different species from those people.’ Because you aren’t. The criminal as 

monster is kind of common. That’s very convenient because you can then say, 

‘Of course I’m not a monster, therefore I’m not a criminal therefore I have no 

potential in tern of criminality.’ And that lets you off the hook. That gives you 

a nice wall between yourself and them.” Sarah Ball’s greatest achievement with 

these intimate works is to effectively break down walls and create bridges – for 

me the function of art itself. 

Joseph Clarke . 2013 

2

Activist 

oil on gessoed panel | 18 x 13 cm 

3

Activist 


4

Activist 


5

Activist 


6

Activist 


7

Activist 


8

Activist 


9

Activist 


10

Activist 


11

Activist 


12

Activist 


13

Activist 


14

Activist 


15

Activist 


16

Activist 


17

Activist 


18

Activist 


19

Activist 


20

Activist 


21

Fire Raiser 


22

Fire Raiser 


23

Fire Raiser 


24

Fire Raiser 


25

Poisoner 


26

Poisoner 


27

Poisoner 


28

Poisoner 


29

Poisoner 


30

Suspicious and Dangerous Person 


31



32



33



34



35

Unknown 


36

Unknown 


37

Unknown 


38

Unknown 


39

Unknown 


40

Unknown 


41

Unknown 


42

Unknown 


43

Biography 

Sarah Ball grew up in South Yorkshire and studied at Newport Art College. 

After working in London throughout the late 80s and 90s, she returned to Wales 

to concentrate solely on painting and complete an MFA at Bath Spa University 

in 2005. She is represented by Millennium. 

Ball’s most recent works are intricate and diminutive painted portraits taken 

from police ‘mugshots’. These delve into ideas surrounding 19th Century 

physiognomy - which was a widely explored and believed notion that there 

was a connection between an individual’s outward appearance and their inner 

character - in essence good people ‘looked good’ and bad people ‘looked bad’. 

This research progressed to include Alphone Bertillon’s identification system. 

Bertillon was a French police officer and biometrics researcher who applied the 

anthropological technique of anthropometry to law enforcement, creating an 

identification system based on physical measurements. 

Acclaim for Sarah Ball continues to grow with two recent pieces selected and 

curated by Edith Devaney the Curator of Contemporary projects in the new 

portraiture room at the RA Summer Show, 2013. The work was shown alongside 

artists such as Frank Auerbach, Gavin Turk, Gary Hume, Julian Opie, Elizabeth 

Peyton, Alex Katz and Michael Craig Martin. 

Ball is currently Weslh Artist of the Year, having been shortlisted in 2007 and 

2009. She also recently one The Best of Wales prize at The National Open Art 

Competition, 2012. Sarah was also shortlisted for the Threadneedle Prize in 

2009 and has again been shortlisted this year. 

44

Published by Millennium to coincide with the exhibition ‘Accused Part 2’ by Sarah Ball 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted 

in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior 

permission of the publishers 

Publication produced by Impact Printing Services (www.impactprintingservices.co.uk) 

Interview Film by Alban Roinard and Joseph Clarke 

ISBN 978-1-905772-63-7 

M I L L E N N I U M 

Street-an-Pol 

St. Ives 

Cornwall 

01736 793121 

mail@millenniumgallery.co.uk 

www.millenniumgallery.co.uk

Sarah Ball 'Accused Part 2'

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?