Clement Cooper
Deep
14 October to 30 November 1997 |
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Clement Cooper, a younger photographer from a mixed race background, made extensive visits to four cities in order to document the diversity of experience and gain insight into the feeling of mixed-race people living in Britain today, which he examines through a series of photographic protraits.
The photography that made up Deep was the result of an intensive, emotionally exhausting and far-reaching project undertaken by Clement Cooper over a three year period in Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol and Manchester. Cooper's journey around the country was motivated by an autobiographical desire to elaborate and give voice - literally - to the largely marginalised experience of mixed-race people in Britain today. The people pictured in this exhibition have contributed to the project in many ways, not least in terms of their collective enthusiasm to form part of an important living archive. Some were met casually by Cooper as he negotiated each city, some were friends and friends of friends, some were introduced through project work and teaching.
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Steve Ouditt (1st International Artist in Residence)
Works on Process
1 August to 7 October 1997
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Steve Ouditt was 198 Gallery's first Artist in Residence. In this unique exhibition the artist was invited to turn the gallery space into a studio where the public weare able to see the artist's work being created. Ouditt encouraged a dialogue to explore both the gallery space and his works.
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Jackie Williams
The Series Paintings
25 June to 26 July 1997
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The Series Paintings was the first solo exhibition by visual artist Jacqueline Williams. The exhibition consisted of large-scale paintings and black and white on paper, and included images devived from birth, regeneration, life cycle and the female biomorphic form.
'The idea of communicating with as many people as possible is very important to me. One of the reasons why I paint such large canvases is to make large work for public spaces - corporate or public buildings. I envisage my work being seen, not only in galleries but in public spaces where audiences that are not usually gallery visitors can also see them. The scale of the work is important as I like to create a human relationship with my paintings. The idea is to enclose the viewer with the work to develop a communication with the paintings. I feel that artists have a responsibility to communicate to a wider audience.'
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Pablo Menfesawe-Imani
Angelitos Negros/Black Angels
6 May to 14 June 1997
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This exhibition represented a series of portraits in which the artist uses photography to explore the angelic qualities of his subjects. They were inspired by the words of Roberta Flack: "Why do you always paint white angels?"
Menfesawe-Imani succeeded in creating images of modern-day African icons in this body of work.
"Pablo Menfesawe-Imani's current body of photographic work refutes crude binary notions of "good" and "evil" and deals with an area which is of continual fascination to human-kind; the Earth-bound angel (two recent films, "The Preacher's Wife" and "Michael" testify to this popular appeal). He takes his cue from a 1968 song by Roberta Flack called Angelitos Negros, a Spanish folk song which asks renaissance painters "why do you always paint white virgins. Paint beautiful black angels." And that is precisely what Menfesawe has done. Understanding angels as creators, protectors, and sources of inspiration, and not winged cherubs or virtuous seraphs, he has taken a series of photographs. These black and white portraits are of close friends who he feels have those attributes and who are black, ordinary yet deeply spiritual. He describes his sitters as 'intense, passionate and profound' and indeed the photographs convey those characteristics." (Melanie Keen, March 1997)
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Converging Lines
in collaboration with Rayna Nadeem, Nigel Pickford, Chris Christodoulou, George Amposah
18 March to 26 April 1997
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Converging Lines is a collaborative group of London-based artists from different cultural backgrounds working in video. George Amponsah, Chris Christodoulou, Rayna Nadeem and Nigel Pickford presented an exhibition based around theories of cultural identity and cultural displacement. The show included site-specific installations which incorporated surveillance techniques, multimedia and public art performances.
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Velias Ndaba
Go Kapana
10 to 17 March 1997
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Ndaba’s body of work consists of semi-abstract paintings of market scenes. The paintings clearly express the spontaneous movement of people in their daily routine of bargaining for cheap market produce. The imagery seems to expand beyond the immediate orientation and purpose owing to its uncompromised execution.
As opposed to conventional still realism of market scenes, the plural attitude in the market becomes a standpoint for Ndaba’s ideas and his ultimate experience of the markets. Whatever Ndaba’s portrayal of the market signifies, the end product carries its own vitality.
Velias Ndaba is both a painter and the co-ordinator of Thapong International Workshop which provides a wealth of experience for professional artists throughout the world.
Ndaba was awarded grants by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and The British Council, Botswana for a two-month residency at Gasworks Studios. Go Kapana was an exhibition of work made during his stay in London and was kindly supported by the Botswana High Commission.
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Jenni Manning
Screen Paintings
4 February to 8 March 1997
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The show marked the artist's British debut. Employing the process of mono-printing, Manning's work depicts her love for everyday people and experience. Observations are translated into vivid abstract explosions of vibrant colour.
"Work for women artists is never just the moment when we write or do other art, like painting, photography, paste-up or mixed media. In the fullest sense, it is also the time spent in contemplation and preparation. This solitary space is sometimes a place where dreams and visions enter and sometimes a place where nothing happens...Our need for this uninterrupted, undisturbed space is often far more threatening to those who watch us enter it than is that space which is a moment of concrete production... In such a world it would make perfect sense for women who devote themselves to artistic practice to rightfully claim such space" (bell hooks, 'Art on my mind').
Bisi Silva, 1996
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Tawakal
Art, Crafts, Dance and Music by Somalis
27 November to 25 January 1997 |
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Created to support their struggle to keep their culture intact, Tawakal was an exhibition by a group of refugee Somali women living in the East End. The exhibition comprised a nomadic home installation containing examples of crafted utensils, and included photographs, textiles, performance art and video, with the artists serving wedding cuisine in the traditional manner. The exhibition attempted to counteract negative stereotypes by presenting positive images of their cultural heritage. |
