Three generations drawn from for artwork

Artist Richey Henderson is exploring his ancestry by examining the contrasting experiences of three generations living in Teesside.

Richey’s latest work Displaced includes portraits of himself, his dad and grandfather. Originally from Middlesbrough, 44-year-old Richey left the region in 1988 to study fine art in Manchester, where he later embarked on a teaching career in a further education college. In more recent years he regularly returned to Teesside as his mum Suzanne was battling cancer.

As his visits home became more frequent, he decided to leave his job in Manchester and moved back to Middlesbrough, taking on a part-time role as a lecturer.

'During those visits home would sketch pictures of my mum,' said Richey. The work which evolved from those sketches developed into his first local solo exhibition, Love and Loss, which focused on that maternal relationship.

'Middlesbrough had transformed while I was living away, particularly in the creative and arts community with Navigator North, TS1 Gallery, House of Blah Blah, Platform Arts and mima all now providing a rich network of support which had previously not been there.

'I discovered mima was offering a bursary in response to the Localism exhibition to reflect the hidden narrative of arts in the region. I wanted to develop the work I had to look at the other side of my ancestry, as an artist and grandchild of an immigrant.

'Having been awarded the mima bursary I have been able to make the most of the mentoring support and networking opportunities it provides,' added Richey.

The three portraits of him, his dad and grandfather who all share the same name, Richard Anthony Henderson, taps into the Caribbean tradition of naming sons after their father.

'While Love and Loss dealt with my maternal white ancestry, I wanted to explore the other side of my heritage. My grandfather came from Trinidad in the 1940s with the Merchant Navy. He was among migrants who settled away from the big cities. He had to assimilate and he lost a lot of his culture.

'For my dad and his siblings growing up, a lot of their life involved the threat of violence and the feeling of not belonging. For me, there is a greater feeling of belonging through assimilation.'

Richey’s 71-year-old dad still lives in Middlesbrough, although his grandfather died the year he was born. 'I have heard so many stories and anecdotes about my grandfather from my family. I only have one photograph of him, as he came from a time when taking photographs was not as commonplace as it is today. The portrait is a manifestation of those memories.

'The story of displacement still resonates with a lot of people today.'

Work by Richey can be seen at Teesside University’s Constantine Gallery during October to celebrate Black History Month.

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