Hear Hew Locke discuss his artistic practice in relation to In the Black Fantastic, the Hayward Gallery’s latest exhibition.
Hew Locke was born in Edinburgh, UK in 1959. He spent his formative years, 1966 – 80 in Guyana before returning to the UK to complete an MA in sculpture at the Royal College of Art.
Locke explores the languages of colonial and post-colonial power, how different cultures fashion their identities through visual symbols of authority, and how these representations are altered by the passage of time.
These explorations have led Locke to a wide range of subject matters, imagery and media, assembling sources across time and space in his deeply layered artworks.
In 2022, Locke was awarded Tate Britain's Duveen Hall commission. His work was included in the major group exhibition, Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950s – Now at Tate Britain in 2021/22.
In 2019, Locke's comprehensive solo exhibition, Here's the Thing, opened at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK, before touring to the USA.
Part of Summer: In the Black Fantastic
Veneue: Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre
