Ben Callaghan

Ben Callaghan, an Edinburgh based artist and studio holder at Rhubaba Gallery and Studios, explores how designed objects - working surfaces, vessels, toys — can be pressed into service as prompts, props or even protagonists in philosophical debates.

As the locus for this philosophical enquiry, Callaghan designs both objects that are functional, and others that appear to be so, but often with no apparent purpose. Through exploring their innate intentionality, he attempts to understand human consciousness and how the manifestation of objects reflects our own existence; things-as-they-are and thought-as-it-is.

For Platform: 2015, Callaghan is expanding this practice into a digital realm. Creating 3D objects within a digital arena, not as representations but as objects in themselves, this becomes an interactive platform that can be manipulated by viewers remotely.