Mark Leckey's 'In the Offing' at The Turner Contemporary in Margate
“the distant sea visible from the shoreline and carries a sense of anticipation and foreboding”
‘In The Offing’ (7 October 2023 – 14 January 2024)
As the flashing lights of the distant funfair, squawking grabber machine teddies and endless breathing of the sea pulling in and pushing out, the intoxicating nature of Mark Leckey’s new exhibition at the Turner Contemporary comes to the fore.
‘In The Offing’, which in this context refers to that horizon point where the sky meets the sea, is a group show edited and featuring the renowned Turner Prize-winning artist, who has also brought in works from artists from Kent and beyond.
Centred around a 48-minute loop of works (with multiple entry points across the gallery), Leckey has utilised the concept of a magazine editorial as his foundation to choreograph an experience that blends moving image, sound, light, and painting.
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.
Of course there are references to Dreamland and Margate itself, but it’s arguably the slightly sinister undertones of a number of the works that is so captivating.
See the UV light pick out different colours of the giant oily mural (UltraMax Extreme against The Dismal Tide, 2023) by Darren Horton with the soundtrack of a rollercoaster train clacking along the track. Watch as giant, surrealist CGI rock formations float in the air above the tide (Fata Morgana, 2023), while shining a merry-go-round unicorn (Mark Leckey DazzleDark, 2023) is engulfed by a colour-filled sea. It pokes at your own memories of a British seaside town. But there is a perplexing indecision under the surface; pushing the picking up the pebble of the unknown, the thing on the horizon that you cannot see and gently rubbing it up against the inescapable inevitability of another classic seaside experience. It’s brilliant.
Participating artists will include ANGUSRAZE, Lucy Duncombe, Theo Ellison, Ashley Holmes + Seekersinternational, Darren Horton, Mark Leckey, Lost at Sea Project, nakaya mossi, Charlie Osborne, Alessandro Raho, Hannah Rose Stewart + Blackhaine, and Iceboy Violet. Further details of the commissions will be announced in September.
As part of ‘In The Offing’, Leckey conceived and hosted Salamagundy ‘22 in 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 art practice.
Mark Leckey said: “Spending time in Margate, where the horizon is ever present, I found out the origin of the phrase 'in the offing' and its sense of the near future moving inexorably towards us. I wanted to see how young artists and musicians would respond to this idea of the offing, with its sense of promise and foretelling, of auguries and harbingers, of looking out to the horizon to see what is coming.”
The exhibition will be curated with Melissa Blanchflower, Senior Curator, Turner Contemporary and will be accompanied by a live programme, details of which will be announced in September.
Clarrie Wallis, Director of Turner Contemporary said: “I am delighted Turner Contemporary will present In The Offing, a group exhibition by Mark Leckey, one of today’s most exciting artists. Inspired by magazine editorials, Leckey will blend painting, moving image, sound and light to create an immersive experience. The title ‘In The Offing’ captures the sense of something on the horizon, soon to come.
“We are grateful to our Principal Supporter, Freelands Foundation, for their unwavering generosity during these challenging times in the arts sector. Their multi-year collaboration and commitment to developing an exhibition model that resonates with new and existing audiences has been invaluable. We also thank Creative Estuary. Their two-year programme with the Emerging Producers will further enrich opportunities for young people in Kent interested in careers in the creative industries.”
Mark Leckey
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 will be featured in the exhibition alongside visual artists. The commissions will 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, will give visitors the experience of both a gallery and fairground attraction.
Arts Education Exchange Music and Video Lab
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 Turner Contemporary.
