Benjamin Green

'The Boys' is a meditation on the complex pressures of masculinity in ‘young men'. Around the time they hit puberty, boys must contest with the emotional and social struggles of coming-of-age. Whether starting a new school or discovering their sexuality, boys are told to 'man up', ‘keep your feelings to yourself’ and of course, never to cry.  

The artist ran a workshop with boys from different backgrounds and social circles at a Friesland School in Derbyshire, exploring their personal experiences with the concept of 'growing up' and becoming young men. They were then asked to focus on, and embody their responses in front of the camera, creating intimate and evocative portraits of a group of boys, on the cusp of becoming men.

Benjamin Green is an artist and researcher working in documentary and moving image. His work is often semi-autobiographical, focusing on the relationship between people, place, and the socio-political.