1. The exhibition title is borrowed from a Portishead song
The exhibition title borrows lyrics from the 1994 Portishead song ‘It Could Be Sweet’, and reflects three sections of Offeh’s practice. The song was formational for Offeh, as he repeatedly listened to the song whilst studying an Art Foundation course at Middlesex University in 1995, resonating with the song’s desire for possibility and freedom.
The exhibition itself is broken up into these three sections. ‘Mmm’ is a sound work in the lobby between the two galleries, which can convey a range of emotions including desire, affirmation, curiosity. ‘Gotta Try a Little Harder’ in Gallery One explores the early years of Offeh’s practice, a period he refers to as one of experimentation, where he used his body as a medium for performance. In Gallery Two, ‘It Could Be Sweet’ explores hopeful desire for the future, charting Offeh’s social practice with community groups and young people, and incorporates themes of Afrofuturism.
2. The exhibition is a survey of 25 years of Offeh’s practice
In his first major solo exhibition in a UK institution, Offeh reflects on his practice as an artist, and the earliest work in the exhibition is Alien Communications (1999), his BA show piece. Within the exhibition you will also encounter works created earlier this year, as we explore over two decades of Offeh’s practice.
There are recurrent themes and ideas throughout the work, including a sense of play and fun, as Offeh often uses humour as an entry point for audiences to access his work.
3. Afrofuturism is a key theme of Offeh’s work
Afrofuturism is a key reference point which Offeh has returned to over a number of years. Afrofuturism is a cultural style and philosophy that combines science-fiction, history and fantasy to explore Black histories and experience. Offeh is interested in how Afrofuturism and speculative fiction can inspire individuals to imagine alternative, optimistic futures, as a way of navigating the present. The jazz musician Sun Ra (1914-93) was a key figure in Afrofuturism and is a significant inspiration for Offeh. Sun Ra’s visionary music and poetry promoted self-determination through the power of imagination and prophecy — a response to his own experience of discrimination and racism as a Black man in America. In 2021, Offeh created The Akomfo Mothership, a large-scale sculptural installation inspired by Sun Ra’s ship in the film Space is the Place (1973). The motif from this ship is prominent in Gallery Two.
4. The exhibition engages with queer culture and histories
In Gallery Two, exploring Offeh’s collaborative work with community groups, there is a large focus on the stories and histories of the queer community.
The installation Down at the Twilight Zone (2018) was part of a 12-hour performance in Toronto celebrating the city’s nightlife. Playing on the three telephones are accounts from members of Canada’s LGBTQ community of their experiences of queer life in Toronto between the 1940s and 1980s. Offeh encountered the recordings in The ArQuives, Canada’s LGBTQ2+ archive, and the topics covered range from gay cruising to relationships, the gay liberation movement and interactions with police. Pick up the phones when you visit the exhibition and have a listen to these narratives.
These themes of identity and community run through Offeh’s work. In 2019, whilst on a residency at Art Tower Mito, Japan, Offeh was inspired by African American writer James Baldwin’s (1924-87) essay ‘Stranger in the Village’, where he charted his experience of being the only Black person in the Swiss village where he lived with his partner. Offeh resonated with this experience, and met with settled immigrants and members of the LGBTQ+ community to discuss their experiences of estrangement and integration, and how they found community, documenting these narratives in Stranger in the Village (2019).
5. Popular culture is a significant inspiration for Offeh
Offeh has been inspired by film and engages with popular culture in his art. In the video work Being Mammy, Mammy’s Looks (2006). Offeh explores the caricature of Mammy as portrayed by actress Hattie McDaniel in the film Gone with the Wind (1939). McDaniel became the first African American to win an Oscar for the role. Throughout her career in Hollywood she experienced racism and racial segregation, but was criticised by civil rights activists for perpetuating negative stereotypes through the roles she chose to play. In the new publication that accompanies this exhibition, Anna Khimasia notes:
‘Offeh – a male artist embodying the iconic female maternal figure – uses exaggerated, repetitive gestures that are at once humorous and unsettling… revealing the constructed nature of racialised and gendered stereotypes.’
Offeh has also been inspired by acclaimed documentary films Paris is Burning (1990) and Tongues United (1989), which document the experiences of Black queer communities in 1980s and 1990s America. In Snap Like A Diva (2012), Offeh appears in drag to demonstrate how to snap and click your fingers in a variety of flamboyant ways, drawing on and celebrating the New York ballroom scene and Black queer sub-cultures.
6. There are interactive elements in the exhibition
During the exhibition, Offeh invites visitors to engage with the works, whether that’s snapping ‘like a diva’ or attempting Offeh’s quizzical ‘mmm’ as you explore the artworks on display. In Gallery Two, visitors can take time to reflect and create their own artworks using stamps inspired by the space motifs featured in Offeh’s Transporter (2013). Transporter was created with young people in London to mark 150 years of the London Underground, reimagining the central line as an interstellar highway, part of which involved an installation for the escalators, which has been included in the exhibition at Kettle’s Yard. On your visit, create your own interstellar artwork and share it with us on social media @kettlesyard #KettlesYard
7. All of Offeh’s video works in the exhibition are available to watch at home
You can continue to discover the exhibition on our free digital guide on Bloomberg Connects! Hear directly from Offeh as he talks you through key concepts and ideas, and explore exhibition artworks from the comfort of your own home. The digital guide also offers the opportunity to explore Offeh’s Performative Tour of Kettle’s Yard (2021), filmed alongside the group exhibition Untitled: Art on the conditions of our time. The video features Offeh re-performing the poses of sculptures by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (1892-1915) in the Kettle’s Yard house, and is included in his current exhibition at Kettle’s Yard.
Harold Offeh: Mmm, Gotta Try a Little Harder, It Could Be Sweet
Shop: Mmm, Gotta Try a Little Harder, It Could Be Sweet
