Former fishmonger Teddy Salad is bringing a solo exhibition to North Norfolk this September – showcasing artwork made from found objects, following an extraordinary change of direction after a serious illness. Here, Teddy explains all
A former fishmonger who began creating art from driftwood and discarded objects while recovering from a serious illness is bringing his work to North Norfolk this autumn — an area he says has a strong connection to both his childhood and his artistic identity. Artist Teddy Salad will present his first solo exhibition in Glandford from 14 September to 11 October, bringing together paintings, sculptures and assemblages made from found and reclaimed materials.
Salad’s unusual artistic journey began in 2009 when a serious illness forced him to reconsider his life. During rehabilitation, walks along the beach led him to start collecting pieces of driftwood and other discarded materials.
He began arranging and painting what he found, gradually turning the fragments into eccentric characters, creatures and imagined scenes. “In truth, when I first set off on this journey, we were skint,” says Salad. “I couldn’t afford the paint and other materials, so I just made do with what paint we had under the stairs and from what other people were throwing out.”
“I’ve always loved finding ‘treasures’. I kind of look on them as gifts. The more I was making, the more I started noticing things, like faces in the wood and figures from plastic.”
What began during his recovery eventually became an unexpected second career. In 2017, Salad was invited to exhibit his work as part of Brighton Festival. The work sold, and an experiment born from recovery developed into a new career. In 2024 he began working full-time as an artist.
“I remember being blown away from being asked to show at the Brighton Festival way back in the beginning. I had absolutely no aspirations to be an artist. However, once I got started it suddenly became all consuming.”
His work has since been exhibited across the UK and internationally, including at the Outsider Art Fair in New York, Hastings Contemporary and the Affordable Art Fair in London.
Now, bringing his work to Glandford has a particular significance. “When we moved out of London as a kid, we moved to Suffolk and stayed there through my early childhood,” says Salad. “My formative years were spent up in this neck of the woods and both Suffolk and Norfolk hold very strong memories for me.. There’s a very strong thread of folk art, what I call modern folk art, running through everything I do. I am under no illusion that many of my memories and some experiences from that time are instrumental in how I live and work today. I feel a strong affinity to this particular area of the country.”
His materials include driftwood, reclaimed timber, old floorboards, discarded frames, broken toys and beach finds. Rather than hiding their previous lives, Salad incorporates their dents, weathering and imperfections into his work.
Music and everyday observations also play an important role. “I have music playing pretty much all day long,” he says. “Lyrics and titles often find their way onto my pictures. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, there is no theme to my pictures. They are almost like some kind of daily diary in a way. If something catches my eye, a quote, a quip, a word even, on it goes!”
The exhibition is at Bishop & Miller Gallery, a new exhibition space at Glandford, and presented by Allen Hall Gallery. Oliver Miller, Managing Director of Bishop & Miller Auctioneers and Plastic Culture, said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming Teddy Salad to our new gallery space at Glandford. Teddy is definitely a favourite of mine — I love his style of work. It’s fun, colourful and full of character, and his use of reclaimed and found materials really resonates with our own passion for giving objects a new lease of life. We’re very pleased to be providing the gallery space for the exhibition and are delighted to be supporting Allen Hall Gallery in bringing Teddy’s work to Glandford.”
Salad is particularly looking forward to meeting visitors during the exhibition. “I am very much looking forward to meeting visitors to the show,” he says. “I genuinely enjoy it when folk start drilling down into something that may have caught their eye, good or bad!”
TEDDY SALAD – AMUSE BOUCHE, Allen Hall Gallery, The Barns, Glandford, Norfolk, NR25 7JP, 14 September – 11 October 2026. For further information please visit allenhallgallery.com
Featured image of Teddy Salad – Credit Samantha Cooper
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