Ben Lawrence and Sam Murray are founders of HiLT projects inc. a design and fabrication studio in Brooklyn, NY. They draw from their respective backgrounds in sculpture and photography to create dynamic and refined visual work.
Ben Lawrence is from Western Massachusetts and the Connecticut coast. He earned his BFA from the University of Massachusetts in 1996. After an apprenticeship with a furniture designer in MA that specialized in fabrication techniques with metal, wood and glass he moved to Brooklyn. He began working from his own studios and freelancing as an art fabricator, set builder, and prop stylist. Through this experience Ben honed his skill set and expanded his capabilities with new mediums and processes. Ben has worked with several esteemed artists such as Cecily Brown, James Nares, Peter Wegner, and Vera Lutter. He's contributed to photo sets for Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, and David Lachapelle.
Sam Murray grew up in Scotland. He graduated with a BA in Fine Art Photography from the Glasgow School of Art in 1999. He moved to Brooklyn in 2001 where he tried to find a balance between photography and a love of hands on designing and fabrication. He started working as a photo assistant with photographers in all disciplines; fashion, architecture, interiors, still life, portraiture and travel and also worked in a fabrication studio building window displays for high end clients. He found a direct relationship between the two mediums, balancing and composing in space and how elements relate. Slowly he became more interested in building sets for the shoots he was working on and in 2007 decided to focus on a single career.
In 2008 as studio neighbors, Ben and Sam recognized a common thread between their work and decided to join forces and form a new studio for future collaborations. Their interest in developing fabrication techniques and exploring new materials has been the driving force behind their work. Ben and Sam recently formed HiLT Projects Inc.
Their work is varied, captivating, and highly original.