MARK TITCHNER

IT’S THE HOPE THAT KEEPS US HERE

Gallery 1 & 2

Emotions are rarely as heightened in life as they are during the World Cup, and English artist Mark Titchner has exploited those extremes for his show at OOF Gallery in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The World Cup is global, it’s everywhere, it’s for everyone, and with that comes a helluva lot of feelings. All the belief, joy and passion of fandom is here in phrases like ‘we believe in us’, ‘be strong in small things’ and ‘never glorify your weakness’. But the abject misery of defeat and disappointment is here too: ‘you have failed utterly’, ‘envy the success of others’. Printed on glistening mirrors and signature Titchner multicoloured backgrounds - and combined with strobing videos and overwhelming crowd noise pumped through the gallery - this show is an immersive trip into the emotions of football. It's inspired by coaching manuals and the way managers and fans speak, but his new body of work has a universality that goes way beyond football: these are artworks about the highs and lows of everyday life, about how we communicate with each other, and how we view ourselves. You will see yourself reflected in this work, literally, and you will leave having experienced many feelings. That’s the power of football, that’s the power of the World Cup.

THE ART OF THE FOOTBALL SCARF

Gallery 3

The football scarf is brandished by supporters around the world, swung above heads at matches, worn down the pub, nailed to bedroom walls. It’s ubiquitous, and its capacity for visual branding hasn’t escaped the attention of artists. So we’ve pulled together close to a hundred football scarves by dozens of contemporary artists and hung them from the ceiling and filled the gallery walls, just like in one of those amazing little football bars you stumble across on holiday. We've collected scarves by the likes of David Shrigley, Guerrilla Girls, Babak Ganjei, Gray Wielebinski, Aurore Le Duc and Bedwyr Williams. There’s searing cultural critique here, loads of sexuality, tons of humour, endless colour and boundless ideas, all contained on gorgeous bits of knitted acrylic. It’s football scarves, but it’s art. OK?

Join us for the opening on Thursday 3 November from 18:00-20.30.

Shows run from 4 November until 26 February at OOF Gallery, Warmington House, N17. Admission is free. Use entrance for the The Tottenham Experience at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Open Thu-Sat 10-5, Sun11-4, Mon 10-5, closed Tue & Wed.

Mark Titchner solo exhibition & The Art of the Football Scarf group show