Sol y Luna

Sol y Luna’s Artist Immersion program offers talented creatives a unique opportunity to plunge themselves into life in the awe-inspiring Sacred Valley of Peru. We invite our artists to spend time living and breathing this magical corner of The Andes, to become moved and motivated by the area’s stunning landscape, history, culture and communities.

We were delighted to welcome Brooklyn-based American artist Benjamin Langford to Sol y Luna as the latest artist to participate in the program.

Born in Connecticut in 1992, Ben received a BFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2014.

His diverse portfolio of work reflects his passion for nature and the natural world. He has shown work in solo and group exhibitions at galleries across the USA, from New York to Nebraska, Idaho to California, with nature featuring as an enduring theme throughout.

As Ben notes, “My artwork often focuses on nature and the ways in which technology and culture shift our experiences of the natural world”.

In Scenes and Images – a recent exhibition at the Ochi Gallery in Idaho’s Sun Valley – Ben cleverly combined painting and photography to explore the idea of nature after the death of nature. Fresh Cut – an exhibition at the Megan Mulrooney Gallery  in Los Angeles featured floral wall works, created through a combination of photography, embroidery, sculpture and painting. Flowers – an exhibition at the Omaha based Baader-Meinhof Gallery comprised ten, ten foot tall, ten foot wide flowers photographed and displayed on vast canvas panels, stitched together with waxed thread.

The Artist Immersion initiative gave Ben a chance to experience “a truly foreign landscape…it felt like a place where the experience of the natural world is a real spiritual priority. It is a place where the beauty and grandeur of the landscape shape in a very visible way the beliefs, practices and ways of living in the Sacred Valley”.

Ben chronicled his stay through an impressive array of brilliant photographs.

He was particularly stirred by the Andean hummingbirds of the local hummingbird sanctuary. These exquisite birds are a symbol of resilience and spiritual beauty, which Ben cleverly captured up close on camera.

Venturing deep into the mountains, Ben was also struck by the breathtaking surroundings of the Sacred Valley and took time to study the diverse flora, which will go on to inform a whole body of future work.

The centuries-old Incan terraces, dotted across the region, fascinated Ben. He was intrigued by the way in which “the terraces shape the landscape and mould climates to create abundance in a somewhat unforgiving landscape. The ability to create such a rich diversity of crops and materials in a very remote and difficult place really astounds me”.

Ben’s senses were fully awakened by a trip to the vibrant Urubamba market with Chef Jose Libaque. He trekked around the unspoilt Incan archaeological site of Huchuy Cusco, visited the picturesque Andean town of Chinchero and journeyed to Moray, Maras and the Maras salt mines.

“The salt mines of Maras were another really breath-taking location to experience. The almost miraculous presence of these vast salt deposits illuminates why the land is so revered and worshiped as a provider to its people”.

In addition to marvelling at the dramatic natural surroundings, Ben was profoundly moved by his experience with the Sol y Luna Foundation, which works tirelessly to support disadvantaged children in the region, providing a school, orphanage and special needs centre.

Ben led an excellent workshop for the children of the Sol y Luna Home, during which he guided a number of fascinated children through the process of creating large murals on fabric. Using a photographic printing process first used in 1842, Ben and his charges created cyanotypes, often referred to as “sun prints”, enabling the children to reimagine their surroundings through a creative lens to create their very own artwork.

“I think it was very magical for the children to see the sun’s rays immortalize some of their beloved toys and cherished objects onto fabric. I felt really lucky to be able to see their excitement and inspiration quickly developed from our first test-run to then gathering their cherished objects and share in creating compositions with their friends”.

Ben has returned home to New York inspired and humbled by his visit, with an appreciation of “a profound example of a place where people have found a real sense of harmony and deep appreciation for the natural world that surrounds them”.