On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions
A NEW LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATION by Hew Locke, “The Procession” features nearly 150 life-sized figures outfitted in hand-made garments and masks. The latest Tate Britain Commission is a sculptural gumbo evoking celebration, sorrow, and world events across time—from slavery to climate change, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Drawing on some of Locke’s earlier works and themes, the installation calls to mind social justice protests, migration, forced journeys of refugees, Carnival, cultural parades, and funeral processions. Locke was born in Edinburgh in 1959. He resided in Georgetown, Guyana, from 1966 to 1980 and has been living and working in Cornwall and London since then. Explaining “The Procession,” Locke said: “What I try to do in my work is mix ideas of attraction and ideas of discomfort—colorful and attractive, but strangely, scarily surreal at the same time.” CT
“Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission 2022, is on view at Tate Britain, London, UK, from March 22, 2022-Jan. 22, 2023
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Installation view of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
Installation view of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
Detail of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
Installation view of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
Detail of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
Installation view of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
Installation view of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
Installation view of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
TOP IMAGE: Installation view of “Hew Locke: Procession,” Tate Britain Commission, Tate Britain, London, UK, March 2022. | © Tate. Photo by Joe Humprhys
FIND MORE about artist Hew Locke on his website
UPDATE (04/08/22): The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced Hew Locke will create “Gilt” a series of sculptures for the museum’s facade. The works go on display in September. | New York Times
BOOKSHELF
The exhibition catalog “Hew Locke: Here’s the Thing” documents the artist’s most comprehensive survey to date, which was presented from 2019-20 at Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, UK; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Mo.; and Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine. Also consider, “Hew Locke: Stranger in Paradise.”
