Edited by and featuring Mark Leckey with ANGUSRAZE, Lucy Duncombe, Theo Ellison, Ashley Holmes + Seekersinternational, Darren Horton Design, Mark Leckey, Lost at Sea Project, nakaya mossi, Charlie Osborne, Alessandro Raho, Hannah Rose Stewart + Blackhaine, and Iceboy Violet.
Spending time in Margate, where the horizon is ever present, I foundout the origin of the phrase ‘in theoffing’ and its sense of thenear future moving inexorably towards us.I wanted to see how young artists and musicians wouldrespondto this idea of theoffing, with its sense of promise and foretelling, of auguries and harbingers, of looking out to the horizon to see what is coming.
Mark Leckey
Turner Contemporary presents In The Offing, a group exhibition devised by renowned Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Leckey (b. 1964, Birkenhead). Embracing a dual role in this exhibition, Leckey serves as both artist and editor, utilising the concept of a magazine editorial as his foundation to choreograph an experience that seamlessly blends moving image, sound, light, and painting throughout the galleries.
The phrase ‘in the offing’, dating back to the late 1700s, evokes the image of the distant sea visible from the shoreline and carries a sense of anticipation and foreboding, hinting at what lies on the horizon. Leckey has commissioned artists and musicians to make work responding to this title and he also presents a new video work. The exhibition is the culmination of a multi-year project generously funded by Freelands Foundation as the Principal Supporter.
Since the late 1990s, Leckey’s influential practice has explored the relationship between popular culture and technology, and ideas around youth, class and nostalgia. Over the past six years, Leckey has hosted a programme on NTS Radio presenting experimental music by emerging and established artists, several of whom are featured in the exhibition alongside visual artists. The commissions encompass themes of the horizon, the seaside, the past and the future, and will resonate with the wider social and political context of British coastal towns. Also inspired by Dreamland – the amusement park and music venue on Margate seafront – Leckey’s immersive approach in programming moving image, sound and light to appear and flow throughout the exhibition spaces, give visitors the experience of both a gallery and fairground attraction.
The exhibition is curated with Melissa Blanchflower, Senior Curator, Turner Contemporary.
In The Offing, 7th October 2023 – 14th January 2024, Turner Contemporary, Margate
As part of In The Offing, Leckey conceived and hostedSalamagundy ‘22in December 2022–a Variety Show which brought an eclectic line-up of artists to Dreamland’s iconic Roller Room to explore ideas around modern entertainment and contemporary artpractice. The event was a Creative EstuaryCo-commission, delivered by the Emerging Producers, a group of eight local young people, selected as part of Creative Estuary’s Re: Generation 2031 programme which provides employment and skills development in the creative industry. More Info Here
Arts Education Exchange Music and VideoLab
Following on from Leckey’s Music and Video Lab run with CAST, Cornwall, in summer 2022, Turner Contemporary has partnered with Arts Education Exchange to deliver a Lab in Margate. The initiative is designed to create a space for experimentation and discovery through video editing, music production and digital media for young people aged between 18 and 25 years. The short course will run during In The Offing and in collaboration with AEE Tonetic Records, a youth-led record label, introducing musicians and industry professionals to young people and providing mentoring and masterclasses. Outcomes of the Music and Video Lab will be showcased via NTS Radio and at TurnerContemporary.
