Ben Hartley is a Bristol based artist from Somerset. Ben’s practice stems from an interest in artefacts and what they can reveal about their maker(s). Working across sculpture, installation and text, their work makes use of fictioning to create artworks that exist both in and outside of our reality, suggesting a future civilisation interpreting the artefacts of the now.

Their work touches on themes of the life cycle of materials, folklore, ritual, science fiction, apocalypse and future archaeology. Their sculptural work advocates a return to the handmade, combining the processes of ancient vernacular crafts with the materials of the plastic age.

Ben is a studio holder at Bricks Bristol, They are a studio holder at Bricks Bristol, and are part of the artist duo OOPARTs with performance artist and folklorist Buoys Buoys Buoys. Ben graduated from the University of the West of England in 2O19, and is currently part of the School of the Damned Class of 2O25.

Recent exhibitions include the Bristol City Council funded archiving project, Bog Idol at KIT FORM (2O24), Parts of a whole (2O24) solo exhibition at KIT FORM, with work shown in recent group exhibitions at Turf Projects, Eastside Projects and Studio KIND. Ben was selected as a WEVAA Research & Development bursary recipient in 2O22.