Othello De’Souza-Hartley

Othello De’Souza-Hartley is a London-based mixed media artist who explores aspects of human expression and its suppression in contemporary society. Applying minimal gestures to maximum effect, De’Souza-Hartley merges personal experience into visual investigations of prevailing quandaries and contradictions. Working predominantly in photography, moving image, drawing, performance, and painting, the human body is at the core of his practice, either directly as a subject or indirectly via the marks and layers applied to canvas. Prior to receiving an MA in Fine Art from Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London, in 2011, he studied at Central St Martins, University of the Arts London, and at the Royal Drawing School, London.

His residency, from August to September 2017, was possible thanks to Gasworks, a Triangle Networks partner. Through research, he developed the ‘Within’ project by engaging with artists based in Kampala or born in Uganda, going to talks, and looking at local materials and traditions. From these experiences the belief that it was time for Africans to start telling their own stories soon became apparent. The base of his project was how to use traditional materials in a modernised way. The project accumulated in setting up an installation/photo booth made from local materials, which was built organically through research and an open door policy where passers-by could come in and engage in dialogue, spend time in the space and be photographed once the installation was built.