# Asylum of the Birds

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/roger-ballen/asylum-of-the-birds/9780500294864

![Asylum of the Birds](https://quivercdn.com/covers/thames-and-hudson/roger-ballen/asylum-of-the-birds_978-05-0029-486-4.jpg?v=2026-07-14%2023%3A12%3A45)

- Book: [Asylum of the Birds](https://www.bookquiver.com/roger-ballen/asylum-of-the-birds) ([Asylum of the Birds.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/roger-ballen/asylum-of-the-birds.md))
- Authors: [Roger Ballen](https://www.bookquiver.com/roger-ballen)
- Publisher: thames_and_hudson
- ISBN: 978-05-0029-486-4
- Pages: 160
- Published: 2019-03-28
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Softcover

## Description

In a world in which many photographers seek to avoid definition, Roger Ballen’s photographs define themselves in their defiance of classification and genre: his world stands out as one of a kind. The black-and-white images featured in Asylum of the Birds were created exclusively within the confines of a house in a Johannesburg suburb, the location of which remains a guarded secret. The inhabitants of the house, both human and animal – including, most notably, the ever-present birds – are the cast of Ballen’s world, performers amidst the theatrical interiors that they create and he orchestrates. The resulting images exist in a space between painting, drawing, installation and photography. They are timeless, psychologically powerful and masterfully composed.