Harold Offeh Extends His Hand to You

At Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, Harold Offeh’s first institutional survey in the UK showcases over 20 years of the artist’s practice. Beginning in the 2000s and meandering playfully towards the present day, ‘Mmm Gotta Try a Little Harder, It Could Be Sweet’ centres on Offeh’s video and performance works but also includes audio and installations.

The first thing we become aware of is Offeh’s voice, which pops and gurgles overhead in the entranceway. Mmm (2025), an audio track in which the artist vocalizes the show’s title (lifted from the Portishead song ‘It Could Be Sweet’, 1994), sets the tone for a display characterized by light-heartedness and pop culture references. Throughout, primary colours, soft edges and the imperative ‘PLAY’, printed on the walls and suspended above, guide the viewer in how to approach the work. The slapstick begins immediately.

Entering the first space, we are met by the film Haroldinho (2003), in which a smiling, nervous-looking Offeh, in the guise of the titular character (‘Little Harold’), performs the samba on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, where the Ghanaian British artist was on a residency. Offeh repeats his intentionally amateurish dance on Ipanema beach, in a football stadium and, on one occasion, with a band. He is greeted with bemused expressions; some spectators join in, while others take pictures. The film is strange, absurd and a little silly. In the exhibition catalogue, Offeh notes how he uses humour to ‘bring people into the work, particularly those who feel intimidated by art and its discourse’. Through his vaudeville-like performance and costume – he wears a blue worker’s jacket with ‘Haroldinho’ embroidered in sequins on the reverse – he strives to reach out a hand to his audience.

Nearby, tall, sheer coloured curtains set off a central circular seating area, while further screens and photographs line the walls, documenting Offeh’s performances for the camera. In Smile (2001), he is grinning again – this time non-stop, to Nat King Cole’s 1954 rendition of the titular song; in Keep It Up, Keep It Up (2017), he continuously hula-hoops in public spaces in the manner of Grace Jones, whose lyrics to ‘Slave to the Rhythm’ (1985) give the work its title. Jones, a touchpoint for Offeh, appears again in (Graceful Arabesque) from his ‘Covers’ series (2008–20), in which the artist attempts to recreate poses from album covers by Black musicians, seemingly in his kitchen or budget hotel rooms.

The exhibition is at its most compelling in the second room, which showcases Offeh’s community and socially engaged work. Here, the standout installation is Down at the Twilight Zone (2018), presented as three telephone booths. Visitors are invited to listen in as a group of elder queer Canadian men recount tales of going out, cruising and gay liberation in Toronto. It is an intimate offering, set alongside a similar piece, Stranger in the Village (2019), created during a residency in Japan. Here, Offeh uses James Baldwin’s eponymous 1953 essay to structure discussions of estrangement, combining the voices of settled migrants and members of the LGBTQ+ community in Mito with those of recent immigrants from Africa, creating a cacophony of perspectives on life at the margins of the city.

Offeh has dedicated much of his career to education and, as the exhibition attests, is deeply invested in community-building and making art for everyone. There is even an area where children can create prints with paper and coloured stamps. It is abundantly clear that Offeh’s intention has always been to bring people from all strata into his art-making and to engage politically in the playful ways he knows best. In ‘Mmm Gotta Try a Little Harder, It Could Be Sweet’, he deftly balances levity and intellect with accessibility.

Harold Offeh’s ‘Mmm Gotta Try a Little Harder, It Could Be Sweet’ is on view at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, until 1 March 2026

^{Main image: Harold Offeh, Lounging, 2017. Courtesy and photograph: © Harold Offeh}