Being Mammy
dal 26/11/2004 al 15/1/2005
Segnalato da
26/11/2004
Being Mammy
Art Space Portsmouth (ex Aspex Gallery), Portsmouth
Harold Offeh. This exhibition is the culmination of a research project commissioned by Picture This, a Bristol based moving image projects agency. The artist examined the life and career of actress Hattie McDaniel, who famously played and won an Oscar for her role as 'Mammy' in Gone with the Wind.
Harold Offeh
"Why should I complain about making $700 a week playing a maid? If I didn't I'd be making $7 a week actually being one."
Hattie McDaniel
Being Mammy is an attempt to explore the world of the 'Mammy' caricature and evoke the tragedy of the type cast actor doomed to recreate and replay the same role.
This exhibition is the culmination of a research project commissioned by Picture This, a Bristol based moving image projects agency. Offeh has worked with sources from the Bill Douglas Centre, based at the University of Exeter, where he examined the life and career of actress Hattie McDaniel, who famously played and won an Oscar for her role as 'Mammy' in Gone with the Wind. This multi-media installation combines several performance video works contextualised by a series of objects including replica pre-cinema artefacts, posters and other ephemera.
Since completing an MA in Fine Art Photography at the Royal College of Art in 2001, Offeh has developed a body of video work that deals with issues of identity, representation, language and desire. Adopting strategies such as performance, animation and found footage, his work also seeks to confront the viewer with an assessment of contemporary music, TV and cinema.
Aspex Gallery
27 Brougham Road Southsea Portsmouth
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-6pm, Saturday 12-4pm, Closed Sunday & Monday Admission FREE