Guardian journalist Gary Younge was responsible for A bright new wave, a feature on Chris Ofili in the Guardian Weekend magazine of Saturday 16 January 2010. The feature itself, on pages 24 - 27 of the magazine, related to Ofili’s mid-career retrospective at the Tate Britain, 27 January - 16 May 2010. “Having made his name and some controversy with elephant dung, Chris Ofili moved to the Caribbean for a fresh start. Now he’s returning to England for a major new show. He tells Gary Younge why he finally feels able to be himself. Portrait by Horace Ové”
Two of Ofili’s paintings accompany Younge’s piece and one quote from Ofili is highlighted within the feature. ‘Success? You have to leave the real you at home because the fake Chris Ofili has been invited to dinner’
Younge’s feature opened with, “A couple of years after he won the 1998 Turner Prize, Chris Ofili was in Atlantis art store in the East End of London, buying huge quantities of paint and holding up a queue. When he handed over his credit card, the cashier recognised his name and struck up a conversation about his work. A student standing behind Ofili then joined in with some excitement. “Are you Chris Ofili?” he asked. “In art school, the word was you’d given up.” Ofili was delighted. “Go back and tell your friends that I’ve definitely given up,” he replied. “Just don’t tell them you saw me buying this much paint or they won’t believe you.” “
The substantial feature was accompanied by a large portrait of Ofili, taken in his studio, by veteran photographer and film-maker, Horace Ové.
Article relating to an exhibition, 2010