Click the audio file below to hear Andrew’s welcome to the exhibition
Andrew Omoding’s solo exhibition ‘Welcome to me, Scarborough. To See and Hold My Work’ draws on his impressions of Woodend Gallery, the surrounding landscape and the people he met during his visits to Scarborough. In this new body of work developed for this exhibition, Andrew Omoding responds to his experience of Scarborough whilst also reflecting on his own identity and memories of his beloved home and life in Uganda. He has used the Gallery’s archive of books, photographs, objects and artefacts as sources of inspiration and visited locations around Scarborough including the architecture, the fishing port and arcades.
Master of Materials
“Omoding’s extensive arsenal of working methods includes those of a skilful artisan; weaving, sewing, binding and splicing”. – Jenni Lomax
In the studio Andrew wrapped, wove, stapled and sewed materials to construct these works. He substituted industrial aerial wire for fisherman’s rope and colourful ribbons for twine to create outsized fishing pots. Old canvas stretchers were remodelled to become flag poles and an array of fabric samples were sewn and stapled to make his dual nationality flags. Plastic water containers were pierced by poles to create the all important drum, ready for Andrew to beat out his stories and shanties. Embellishments made of cardboard wrapped in wool became creatures adorning the flags, and tails and eyes for swimming fish. Each addition came from discovering disused materials that Andrew reimagined into something more interesting and importantly, new.
Curator Jenni Lomax has written an accompanying essay text which offers insight into the exhibition and Andrew’s work. Download the essay and exhibition guide here: Exhibition Essay and Guide.
Storyteller
“He is story teller at heart — a spinner of yarns — whose narratives have been expanded and embellished by his experience of Scarborough.” – Jenni Lomax
Stories, songs and chants are an integral aspect of Andrew’s practice. Scattered throughout the exhibition are snippets or chapters of Andrew’s story. A hanging fabric sail has the stitched narrative of a story developed by Andrew on the theme of the sea. Elsewhere, a telephone hangs from the wall, inviting the visitor to listen closely to hear Andrew call home to Uganda and tell his fish tales from Scarborough. Inspired by local sea shanties, pop and Ugandan music, Andrew works to the rhythm of music, changing the lyrics to tell the story of the object he is making.
Listen below to one of Andrew’s recordings in the exhibition titled ‘Small Fish’.
Scarborough Beach Performance
“Andrew’s performative productions, whether live or on film, are largely improvised and usually involve procession, dancing and song, all of which demand participation. It is hard to resist this call to action when the artworks themselves are so enticingly suffused with rhythm and energy. His work is full of life.” – Jenni Lomax
Performance is central to Andrew’s work; it is how he makes and how he thinks. Andrew uses performance to animate his sculptures and demonstrate their purpose. A performance with an audience was not possible due to Covid but Andrew wanted to share this vital element to his practice. His solution was to create a film of his storytelling to connect his work in the gallery to the people, beach and quayside in Scarborough he was inspired by. Andrew fused together the treasure trove of colourful seaside rides with taxidermy animals seen in the Woodend Gallery archive to create hats, which he wears in the film, to perform the character ‘Penguin the Storyteller’. With the help of a beating drum and waving flags, he called out to the people of Scarborough to listen to his improvised tales.
Watch the performance film that features in the exhibition below.
Lisa Brown, has worked with Andrew as his artist facilitator for over 10 years. She notes: “It’s always a joy to accompany Omoding on one of his inquisitive journeys of making. You never know quite what will appear but when it does it is a burst of intriguing, tactile, exquisite sculpture ”.
“Andrew Omoding’s world of art is a rich and generous one. A place where everything is possible and everyone is welcome.”- Jenni Lomax
View more images from the exhibition by clicking the link here.
The exhibition is supported by Crescent Arts, Scarborough Museums Trust, ActionSpace and Arts Council England.
Exhibition photo and film credits: Jules Lister
