On seeing + being: presence in the midst of anxiety

A solo exhibition of new work by Ben W. Fey

4-19 April 2025

New City Arts Welcome Gallery

Charlottesville, VA

This exhibition was supported by the Bama Works Fund of Dave Matthews Band at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.

Exhibition Statement

On August 7, I walked into my front yard hoping to see the mushroom I photographed the day before. To my delight, the mushroom was still there, but transformed. A small pile of dirt on top confirmed it was the same mushroom. Two hundred twenty days into the project, I could still be surprised by what I found.

This exhibition documents a daily photography practice inspired by an online photography community I found during one of my most difficult and anxious years. The routine of finding, photographing, editing, and sharing one photograph a day was a welcome assignment and grounding rhythm. Instead of allowing anxiety to pull me inward, I focused outward through my camera, training myself to pause, be present, and truly see the world around me.

Over the 366 days of 2024 (a leap year), I made and shared 412 photographs. The majority of these images were taken within a half-mile radius of my home, proving that you do not have to travel to find beauty. Sometimes I had to look harder to find the beauty, but it was there, even in the midst of difficult things.