OXTOBY – the other David | extraordinary artist holds the history of a vibrant scene

Uncovering – or rediscovering – an artist is like opening a treasure trove, where a world of vibrant possibility springs to life. That’s the feeling you get when Pippa Marriott describes the beginnings of her short documentary OXTOBY – the other David.

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“We were looking at extraordinary etchings that were made with such delicacy, but also energy, of David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney,” she describes how her art-expert cousin had introduced her to the work of David Oxtoby. “There were some large, colourful, energetic paintings. And a catalogue of quick sketches on brown paper with Indian ink, in white and red and black, that were just gorgeous. Rockers and musicians from the late 50s, early 60s, some of whom I didn’t recognise, all so full of life and excitement.”

A leader in Pop Art

For such a powerful and highly regarded artist, how had she not known of David Oxtoby, a leader in Pop Art and a friend and contemporary of David Hockney? she asked. Someone should make a documentary about him! Luckily, her cousin knew him and his manager Richard Gault at the Redfern Gallery. A trip to visit Oxtoby was arranged.

“It was me and my iPhone,” says Pippa. “A preliminary visit with a view to returning and doing it properly.” Oxtoby, a wonderful Yorkshire character with a great voice, plenty of stories, and still drawing all the time, welcomed her in and showed her his studio. Pippa asked if she could return.

The idea was to gather information and make a documentary about him because of his powerful art, and for his insights into a particular time and of being in and of that whole circuit of musicians and rock stars. Oxtoby’s failing health meant the return trip never happened.

Film passion

The experience reignited a film passion in Pippa. In 1988, she was all set for a career in film and made a documentary with Fiona Macbeth.

“I was involved in the Peace Movement and keen to make films, and we decided to work with cross-community teenagers in Belfast on a project that was called Under Pressure,” says Pippa. The project was an eye-opening success, but the energy of working with those teenagers led to a career change, and she went into teaching for 25 years.

Storytelling shift

Pippa made a shift from wanting to tell those stories on a screen to working with young people and others to help them articulate their own stories. After a career in teaching, she has since balanced her own writing with enabling other people’s writing, both as a teacher of English, drama and theatre, as a creative writing facilitator in prison, and – more recently – through her work with Word Kitchen.

To pick up where she left off, Pippa went along to DOCLAB at Exeter Phoenix, where she heard of the micro-short documentary commission and remembered the precious phone footage of Oxtoby in his home studio.

Unrepeatable work

“There’s a parallel between the two things,” she says. “The precious VHS from our Belfast project, recently rediscovered, and the record of that visit to Oxtoby on my tiny iPhone. Material that ought to be seen, unrepeatable work: for Oxtoby, due to ill health, there won’t be another chance to interview him. And there’s very little material out in the world about him,” she adds.

A lot of the artist’s work was lost in a warehouse fire. Then, with a diagnosis of diabetes, Oxtoby removed himself from the scene. For almost 40 years, he was painting huge canvases, many of which he destroyed in his quest to find a new way of painting.

“All of us hold stories,” says Pippa. “Sometimes those stories are not merely personal – for someone like David Oxtoby, for example, those stories also hold the history of a very particular time.”

To be read, listened to and seen

She talks about helping people find their voice and get their work and their stories, read, listened to and seen. “It became much more about the printed word or the spoken word than it was about film,” she says.

“It’s been a detour in the same territory, but I’ve come back to the power of moving image as a way of unlocking stories and valuing people’s experiences.”

“I enjoy seeing through a lens,” says Pippa, “The way that you’re making choices about what’s in that frame.”

The biggest challenge in the Oxtoby commission has been accessing material, and tracking back permissions. The Redfern Gallery has been supportive, and Pippa managed to find an Arena documentary about Oxtoby. And then there’s the crucial iPhone footage.

A revelation has been the collegiate approach to creating work – so like her experiences in theatre.

A community and as a sounding board

“I started off thinking I was going to do this by myself. You don’t have to do that. It’s teamwork,” says Pippa, pointing to the ‘brilliance of what DOCLAB offers as a community and as a sounding board’. Through DOCLAB she also found Sinead O’Toole who has edited the film.

“And Pip Piper, DOCLAB co-founder and himself an experienced documentary filmmaker, has been in a mentoring role, which has been wonderful.”

And the future? It will certainly include a revisit to the Belfast story. But at the moment, Pippa is focused on opening doors and conversations to Oxtoby.

“This is an artist who deserves a wider audience, who deserves a feature-length documentary even,” says Pippa. “There’s a new generation who need to know about him. I would like Oxtoby to be able to see this film, and to get a sense that he’s not forgotten, that he can find a new audience. The film is dedicated to him.”

OXTOBY – the other David by Pippa Marriott is an Exeter Phoenix commission, and premieres at Two Short Nights film festival – 6.45pm and 8.15pm on Friday 6 March.

Top image: David Oxtoby with a painting of Elvis