Harold Offeh
mmm
, gotta
try a little harder, it could be sweet
Alien at Large, 2001–2004 : O eh wears a magnifying glass that highlights and distorts his mouth and lips – features that stereotypically di erentiate Black characteristics from others. The film captures the varying reactions of passersby a
[a] Alien at Large, Walsall
[b] Alien at Large, Liverpool
[c] Alien at Large, Rio
[d] Alien at Large, Chester
[e] Alien at Large, Ban
[f] Alien at Large, Oxford
[g] Alien at Large, Stockholm
f
Haroldinho, 2003 : Haroldinho is a persona created and performed by O eh during a two-month residency in Rio de Janeiro. Wearing a blue utilitarian worker’s uniform decorated with sequins and badges, Haroldinho dances the samba in the city’s famous tourist spots. Haroldinho embodies the vibrancy and energy of Brazilian culture but also reflects Brazil’s status as a newly developing nation that is dependent upon low-waged, low-skilled manual labourers.
Keep It Up, Keep It Up, 2017 : Keep It Up, Keep It Up was produced for the international touring project Boîte-en-Valise, which took inspiration from Marcel Duchamp’s work in which small versions of his well-known artworks were transported and displayed in a suitcase. O eh transports material required to perform this work in an ordinary suitcase to various sites, to unpack and perform.
Open House Residency, 2017 : As the 2017 Open House Artist in Residence for North Cambridge at Kettle’s Yard, O eh invited members of the community to a celebration of local food and domestic design at a Gathering at North Cambridge Academy. The event featured displays from North Cambridge community groups, recipes from local bakers, tips on growing your own food from gardeners, performances and activities. Following the Gathering, O eh held a feast for members for the community who contributed in some way to the Gathering.
Inside Our Tears, 2021 : Joy Inside Our Tears is a video installation that examines the role of social dancing and collective joy through exploring historical examples of social dance in relation to crisis and trauma. O eh’s research focuses on the history of medieval dance mania, linked to outbreaks of the plague, and ‘dance-athon’ fundraisers held to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in the US in the 1990s.
Harold O eh: Mmm, Gotta Try a Little Harder, It Could Be Sweet explores the artist’s multifaceted practice spanning more than two decades. Featuring new texts by Sepake Angiama, David A. Bailey, Lubaina Himid and Anna Khimasia, this book is an upbeat gathering of ideas, interactions, humour and provocations that o ers an open window into O eh’s vivacious world.
“I am a deep admirer of people who love risk, who know how to play and who are totally up for sharing ideas and ways of working with everyone they encounter. Harold does this with us by connecting us with places, linking us with people and reintroducing, in new ways, the buried histories that have in the past tended to detach us from ourselves and each other.”
Lubaina Himid