The Real Deep Dive
Making Pictures (2001-2005)
I did after-school theatre in high school, but the thought of becoming a Leo DiCaprio seemed so far fetched, I pivoted to cinema. Titanic had changed my life. So, I decided to become James Cameron instead. After briefly considering architecture, I toured the local community college and my mind was blown the second I walked onto their soundstage. Filmmaking led me to photography, and making pictures became my way into everything that followed. I taught myself Photoshop making fan art, shot street photography on 35mm film, and eventually left Montreal for Vancouver to pursue a full art school experience. It was a febrile time.
YOU ARE HERE: 2001–2005
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Unleashed, 2006
Experimental video, 2:37 min.
Created, directed, filmed and edited by Ben LaRose.
Lighting and camera assistance: Allison Barker.
Produced at Emily Carr University.
Bute and Melville, 2006
Digital photo collage assembled from multiple photographs. Digital print, 24 × 36 in.
Art School Self-Portrait, 2005
Digital photograph
“Daily life contains all the inspiring elements I need. The light, lines, colors, shapes, the gestures and movement are what my life has been about for me these past two years. These pictures are proofs of life.”
— Ben LaRose, ECUAD application, May 2005
Jean de la Noix, 2004
Color photography, 35mm film
Walnut inscribed “Jean de la Noix,” a play on the name of French filmmaker Jean Delannoy.
John in Bed, 2004
Color photography, 35mm film
Maika Smoking, 2004
Color photography, 35mm film
Colisée, 2004
Color photography, 35mm film
Fourrures, 2004
Color photography, 35mm film
Chang Cheng, 2004
Color photography, 35mm film
Vitrine, 2004
Color photography, 35mm film
Snow Car, 2004
Color photography, 35mm film
Montreal 20, 2003–2004
Series of 20 color photographs shot on 35mm film. Print dimensions variable. From left to right, top to bottom: Flou, 2004; Camel Coat, 2004; Blue Lady, 2004; Ruelle, 2004; Lines, 2004; Jew, 2004; Red Coat, 2004; Another Camel, 2004; St-Laurent, 2004; Ligne Orange, 2004.
Self-Portrait, First Night in My New Apartment, 2003
Color photography, 35mm film
Parcomètre, 2003
Color photography, 35mm film
This photograph of a parking meter was the first one I ever took that I thought looked professional. By “professional,” I mean it looked like something I had seen before—in a photography book, or on a postcard. The composition, the colors and the light; I recognized the pleasure I had experienced looking at an image that was deemed beautiful enough to be published.
$24.66, 2003
Stills from the first short film directed by Ben LaRose.
Crew: Screenplay, Josie-Anne Lemieux; Assistant Director + Logistics, Guy Brossard; Directors of Photography, Simon Bouchard and Jean-François Ouellet; Sound, Mathieu Hamel and Jean-François Ouellet; Art Direction, Script Supervisor + Editor, Josie-Anne Lemieux; Sound Editor, Mathieu Hamel.
Cast: Julie Godbout (Waitress), Benoît Côté (Robber), Pierre Brossard (Landlord), Yolaine Rouleau (Wife), Geneviève Lemieux (Prostitute), Luc Bouchard (Pimp).
Program leaflet, Collège Montmorency, 2003
Arts & Lettres, profil Cinéma
Promotional photograph featuring Ben Larose with collaborators Simon Bouchard and Josie-Anne Lemieux.
Rehearsals for $24.66, 2003
Photographs taken during rehearsals with actors and collaborators for $24.66, the first short film directed by Ben LaRose.
“In Fall 2000, I went to the open house at Collège Montmorency. I made my way to the Cinema Department and, down a hallway lined with giant film posters, walked onto a real sound stage for the first time ever. My mind was blown and my decision was made right there and then.”
— Ben LaRose, autobiographical essay EPIC PERVERSION, 2017