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Croydon Plays Itself

a screen displaying two people sanding in a room
A screen showing a can holding a bottle through a window
the outside of the turf building during an exhibtion with the sign "croydon plays itself"
a triangle patch with the text "Croydon plays itself 2019"
three photographs of the fifty pence building projected onto the wall with "Croydon plays the 80's"
a range of croydon illustrations
a range of photographs of people surrounded by mirrors
A screen showing an image of a bottle and a pot with hands. a range of photographs can be seen on a wall with a plinth of potted plants
some graphic t shirts
A rack of graphic t shirts for sale
a large black speaker on a yellow wall
a plinth with freeback forms
a plinth with feedback forms
A range of t shirts displayed on a rack for sale
Installation view of Croydon Plays Itself
a range of illustrations displaying placed in Croydon
a corner of mirrors with someone sitting in the middle
a range of photographs next to a corner of mirrors with someone sitting in the middle of them
a plinth with a diffuser and essential oils
a plinth of potted plants
A screen showing an image of a bottle and a pot with hands. a range of photographs can be seen on a wall with a plinth of potted plants. a rack of t shirts for sale is at the back
A screen displaying someone sitting on the floor
Harold Offeh
January 18, 2019
 to March 2, 2019

Free & open to all

Opening night Thurs 17 Jan 5-9pm

Croydon Plays Itself takes as its starting point a selection of objects from Museum of Croydon’s display. Harold Offeh was invited by Turf Projects to respond to artefacts from the Museum of Croydon’s collection. Offeh was initially drawn to figures and objects from Croydon’s history: composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, sexologist Havelock Ellis, Jakson’s Lavender oil and the promotional materials accompanying the 1993 edition of Croydon’s Pride festival. Offeh’s approach was to think about how these histories might make points of connection with contemporary Croydon. Through previous works Offeh has been interested in how performance and re-enactments can allow people to establish conversations with histories.
Offeh has chosen to work with individuals and groups from Croydon to create a number of responses to the selection of objects from Museum of Croydon. The exhibition installation will seek to use conventions of retail display – in part influenced by Turf’s current location within Croydon’s Whitgift Shopping Centre – to present objects, artefacts, performance and video to audiences. The project invites Croydon to re-visit and re-animate aspects of its own history.

 

OPENING NIGHT // Thurs 17 Jan, 5-9pm // Free & open to all with BYOB welcome.
Opening night will include a group performance choreographed by Harold Offeh. Croydon Lounging in Croydon will be an evolution of Offeh’s Lounging project, exploring depictions of black men on album covers in repose or lounging – a popular trope for black male singers in the 1980s.

 

Free activity guides are available for families to explore the exhibition together. Pick up a physical copy at the gallery or click here to download your own; Front / Back

 

The exhibition and events were made possible with the generous support of the Arts Council England & Croydon Council.

 

Installation view of Croydon Plays Itself

// ABOUT HAROLD OFFEH

Harold Offeh is an artist working in a range of media including performance, video, photography, learning and social arts practice in a career spanning 20 years. Offeh, often employs humour as a means to confront the viewer with historical narratives and contemporary culture and is interested in the space created by the inhabiting or embodying of history. He has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally including Tate Britain and Modern, Studio Museum Harlem, South London Gallery, MAC VAL, Kulturhusset Stockholm and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2018, his projects included performances at Publics, a contemporary art space in Helsinki, Finland. Actions: The Image of The World Can Be Different, Kettles Yard, Cambridge, UK. The Real Thing: Towards a Live Authentic Archive as part of Material Experiments at The Tetley in Leeds, UK. Offeh produced a 12-hour live event and film called Down at the Twilight Zone, marking queer experiences of nightlife in Toronto, Canada. In 2019, he will be artist in residence at the Contemporary Art Centre, Art Tower Mito, Japan and have a solo exhibition at Turf Projects in Croydon, London. He studied Critical Fine Art Practice at The University of Brighton and MA Fine Art Photography at the Royal College of Art. He lives in Cambridge and works in London and Leeds, UK where he is currently a Reader in Fine Art at Leeds Beckett University and visiting tutor at the Royal College of Art, London.
Documentation Extra

Related events:

ARTISTS LUNCHTIME FEEDBACK: Led by Harold Offeh

  • Sat Jan 26, 2019 @ 12:00
  • Led by Harold Offeh
Info ➜

Groundwerk 4.4: Performing the Archive

  • Sat Jan 26, 2019 @ 14:30
  • Led by Harold Offeh
Info ➜

FAMILY ART FUN DAY: Hall of Mirroring – With Harold Offeh

  • Sat Feb 9, 2019 @ 11:00
  • Led by Harold Offeh
Info ➜

ARTISTS LUNCHTIME FEEDBACK: Led by Milly Peck

  • Sat Feb 23, 2019 @ 12:00
  • Led by Milly Peck
Info ➜

GROUNDWERK 4.5: Weaving

  • Sat Feb 23, 2019 @ 14:30
  • Led by Susannah Bolton
Info ➜

Writing:

Shop:

a print of a yellow halo of text reading "Croydon keeps turning" on a hot pink background

Limited Edition Print: ‘Croydon Keeps Turning’, Harold Offeh

£20.00
  • 2 left
someone holding up a triangle patch with the text "Croydon plays itself 2019" with a yellow and purple background

Artist-Designed Patch: ‘Croydon Plays Itself’, Harold Offeh

£4.00
  • 0 left

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