Roger Mooking: Soundbites is a multidisciplinary exploration of modern life
The celebrity chef, artist, author and musician is a serious fan of Hamilton and its creative energy, so the Art Gallery of Hamilton is the perfect venue for the exhibit’s debut as the centrepiece of the AGH art+music+food Festival.
Don’t expect a typical art gallery experience at the AGH art+music+food Festival running until Oct. 6.
Rather, its centrepiece is the debut of a multi-disciplinary, interactive experience in “Roger Mooking: Soundbites” that combines music with stories and art that Mooking wants visitors to touch and feel.
Be sure to bring earphones and a smartphone. The exhibit begins with a QR code that connects a song to the visual art and a story that takes the visitor through three stages of life.
He may best be known as a celebrity chef and TV host but Mooking is also a Juno Award-winning musician (’90s R&B band Bass is Base, anyone?), a DJ, an author and a visual artist.
Why does he want you to touch the art?
“I have a disruptive streak in me, so this is very much in line with my mission.”
He’s looking forward to seeing his canvas pieces fray at the edges as people touch them. He likens it to the bullet hole in a column he once saw during a late-night tour of the Capitol building in Washington years ago.
Mooking has become known for public art installations that bend the rules. He took over Nathan Phillips Square with an interactive art experience called “The Burn” in 2023 that reflected on the effects of the pandemic.
He was part of “Dis/Mantle,” an art exhibit inspired by the efforts of Black abolitionists. Mooking created a culinary installation featuring ingredients, recipes, themes and foodways central to the African diaspora.
And with “Read(In),” Mooking was inspired by the sit-ins of the 1960s civil rights movement in creating an installation in response to the drastic rise in banned books in the United States. It featured school desks covered in books banned from schools, libraries and other public institutions for featuring stories about race, gender, inequalities and inclusion.
So why is “Soundbites” making its debut at the AGH? It turns out Mooking is a huge fan of Hamilton and when AGH CEO Shelley Falconer CHK attended one of his installations and said she wanted to do something with Mooking, it all came together a couple of years later.
“I really love Hamilton,” he says during a Zoom call with HAMILTON CITY Magazine from his Toronto home. “Left to my own devices, I would live in Hamilton with my family, but my family's too ensconced in our neighbourhood of the last 15 years. Twelve years ago, I wanted to move to Hamilton, but my wife wasn’t down with uprooting the lives of our young kids. But left to my devices, out of anywhere in the world. I would live in Hamilton.”
Even though his address isn’t in Hamilton, the father of four daughters is in the city all the time. Mooking visits restaurants and coffee shops, walks James and Locke Streets and spends time on Ottawa Street.
“We go to the Jamaican place on Ottawa Street. I love it. My wife loves Ottawa Street because she's a seamstress, and so she goes to shop and get her sewing machine fixed.”
Mooking was born in Trinidad and raised in Edmonton. He studied culinary arts at George Brown College in Toronto. He has hosted numerous shows, including the Cooking Channel’s Man Fire Food, Everyday Exotic, Greatest of America, Man’s Greatest Food and Heat Seekers.
He’s appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Wall of Chefs, Fire Masters, Top Chef Canada, Iron Chef, Guy’s Grocery Games, Supermarket Stakeout and Chopped and was the winner of an All-Star Chopped celebrity chef episode.
Mooking arrived in Toronto from Edmonton in the early 1990s and there was a rawness about the big city then, he says.
“You could still find us a store on Queen Street that only sold typewriters. Do you know what I mean? There were comic book stores, like, really boutique little shops and lots of cool artists. We used to busk on the street and thrown warehouse parties. There was a real creative energy.”
The energy of Hamilton now reminds him of that time, he says.
“There’s a rawness with so much opportunity, not capitalist opportunity, but just opportunity for just more greatness to happen, you know? So I really, I really love it. It also reminds me of Brooklyn before it blew up. It’s a little bit gritty, and watch, around that corner is the coolest thing ever. Good things are born in that kind of energy, you know?”
For “Soundbites,” Mooking has created a playlist to accompany the journey through the art.
Mooking starting painting acrylics 12 years ago and they weren’t going to be for public viewing. But then in a 2019 note in his phone, he wrote: “Soundbites. No song longer than 90 seconds.”
In came out of Mooking’s ruminations on the fact that the average human attention span lasts just 8.25 seconds.
The album Soundbites came out last year, exploring concepts of time and how it shapes and defines the world, particularly from a Black perspective. Shortly after came Curious Sounds, a book co-written by novelist francesca ekwuyasi that features micro fictional stories written by Mooking of no more than 100 words.
The book is a dialogue between two artists about creativity, Blackness, family, grief, and more.
All of this work comes together in “Soundbites,” the exhibit.
“I think art should have a life on its own. So it's unraveling into all these things. We did Soundbites retreats, and now we're doing a festival around it. And then, you know, what's the next iteration? And I think as the breath and life of it continues, I want to see the extensions of the “Soundbites” pieces continue to have their own life in very interesting, interactive and immersive ways.”
The art is told in three phases that represent the cycle of life: The learning, the living, the leaving. That comes from “a dark place,” says Mooking, his struggle with watching his father enter the final stage of his life.
Living in Roger Mooking’s head is to experience a constant stream of creativity.
“I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas, roll over, write the memo on my phone, or I'll hear a whole song in my head while I'm sleeping, and then I realize, you know, that's not a real song yet. You’d think, after like, 30 years, I'd figure that out, but every time, it's a surprise, then I roll over in bed and I'm on the phone, singing the bass line, singing the piano part, singing the voices, the lyrics, the harmonies, whatever I can remember.”
His phone is jammed with notes and voice memos and he often has to pull over while driving to record them. He likens it to standing outside while the universe rains down ideas like asteroids. In the last decade or so he’s come to realize this is his gift and he has a responsibility to use his creativity to confront social issues such as racism, colonialism, oppression and censorship.
Expressing that creativity is hard work, says Mooking, but he doesn’t really have a choice.
“I'm one of those people that have to make shit or else I won't be walking, you know?”
A major theme in “Soundbites” the exhibit is the fast-shrinking human attention span. There is no point railing against it, he says.
“You know, I look at it like this: I can either be the blacksmith who's trying to still put shoes on horses, or I could build an EV, right?” he says with a laugh.
“It's about documenting the moment in a creative way and trying to understand it.”
Mooking says the AGH has proven to be a flexible, nimble, passionate host thanks to people “who just really care about presenting the thing beautifully. And don't know if I would have gone to a different gallery out the gate, if it would have been received the same way … In Hamilton, the energy of Hamilton is just so art centric that they're like art first, and the more sort of outlandish the idea they're willing to embrace it and run with it.”
Mooking will return to the AGH on Oct. 4 to DJ a ’90s hip hop vinyl night and on Oct. 6, a finale dinner will feature catering from his restaurant Twist.
This 2024 AGH art+music+food Festival is a departure from the gallery’s established fall film festival, says Celia Vernal, public programming lead.
“’Soundbites’ is a combination of art and storytelling and music. In the exhibition, there's a QR code that leads you to a playlist that Roger has paired nicely with the art that he's put together, as well as the stories that are installed right on the wall. You have to interact with the artwork to get to the stories. Also, I would make note that the way in which you move through the exhibit, you're moving through the different phases of life as well.”
The goal of “Roger Mooking: Soundbites” is to “bring new people into the gallery space that didn't necessarily feel like this was a place that they would come to for leisure or come to be inspired to learn.”
Vernall says the opening reception brought out many people who had never been to the AGH before but have come back since.
While visitors are in the AGH, they can find out about workshops and events it hosts, and check out “Directors Collect,” which showcases 110 years of history at the gallery.
“So while people are here taking part in the festivities of the festival, they can also see a lot of works that are usually in the vaults that are currently on display right now. So it’s a very special time to come and see some of the hidden gems.”
Event calendar: AGH art+music+food Festival
Make Your Mark Art Workshop
Saturday, Sept. 28, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Join local interdisciplinary artist, Nathan Eugene Carson, for a creative experience of gestured mark-making. During this workshop, participants will use improvisation, sound, and movement to explore mark-making and drawing, inspired by “Roger Mooking: SoundBites.”
ACCA Fabulicious
Sunday, Sept. 29, 1–4 p.m.
The Afro Canadian Caribbean Association (ACCA) will be presenting a Fabulicious afternoon of art, music & food at the ACCA Banquet Hall at 754 Barton St. E.
Architectural film screening & panel discussion
Tuesday, Oct.1, 6:30–9 p.m.
The Hamilton Burlington Society of Architects and Young Architects of Hamilton will be showing a three-part short film series produced by the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA.) The series examines the ways in which changing societies, new economic pressures, and increasing population density are affecting the homes of various communities. Through the lens of architectural projects in different socio-political contexts, each episode looks at the global scope as well as the local specificities of a particular issue.
Youth Rap Beats & Poetry Workshop
Thursday, Oct, 3, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Join the fun with local Hamilton musician Liam Tyndall, also known as LTtheMonk, as he leads an exciting youth-oriented rap-writing workshop and challenge. Dive into the vibrant world of rap and poetry, where you’ll learn the ins and outs of rhyme schemes, wordplay, metaphors, and similes. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have crafted your very own verse or song and be ready to rock the mic with your unique creation! Suitable for ages 14 to 25.
Vinyl Night: ’90s Hip Hop Edition
Friday, Oct. 4, 7:30–11 p.m.
Join Juno award-winning artist Roger Mooking a.k.a MC Mystic from Bass Is Base for a night of ’90s hip hop. Vibrant energy and vinyl records will be spun all night by DJ Jooce.
Art Circuit Reception
Friday, Oct. 4, 6–10 p.m.
Art Circuit provides opportunities for collectors and art enthusiasts alike to meet and engage with local artists and gallerists to celebrate the local art scene in Hamilton. Take a ride on a unique bus tour that provides transportation to multiple gallery opening receptions taking place on the same night, including the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
The AGH is hosting a special Art Circuit reception from 6–7 p.m. featuring a curation of artwork by local Hamilton artists. Opening remarks begin at 6:30 p.m.
Festival Finale Dinner: A Roger Mooking Experience
Sunday, Oct. 6, 5–9 p.m.
You’ve seen (and made) the art, heard the music, and now it is time to experience the food! Starting with cocktails and offering a delicious array of choices, including vegetarian and vegan options and a light dessert, this casual-chic event welcomes guests to dine, mingle and share an evening of music, entertainment and art with food curated and catered by Roger Mooking.
Sounding Spaces
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Sounding Spaces is a sound art/music collective based in Hamilton and led by Tony Vieira. The collective of musicians performs improvised and sketch-composed soundscapes that respond to architectural spaces and natural physical elements. These sound experiments are intended to explore and activate the full sensorium.
