Hales Gallery and Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts) are pleased to invite you to celebrate the opening of Hew Locke’s major new installation at Rivington Place.
Locke brings together formal and thematic elements of his practice to create a fictional collection of the possessions of an imaginary ruler. The installation combines monumental figures reaching up to 14 ft tall, with an elaborate backdrop of wall drawings.
This flamboyant commemoration of individual power becomes a poignant parody of today’s social and political global climate. Presented through the formal language of traditional museum display, Locke’s allusions to the language of contemporary dictatorships and war assume a powerful commentary on our national cultural institutions and their relationship to the modern constructs of history and society, cultural identity and national pride.
Hew Locke was born in Edinburgh, lived in Guyana for 24 years and is now based in London.
Recently, Hew participated in Infinite Island: Contemporary Carribean Art at the Brooklyn Museum, New York and completed a commission to design a permanent artwork for the New Art Exchange in Nottingham. His works are included in several prestigious collections such as the Brooklyn Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum drawing collection, the British Museum and the Henry Moore Institute.
Hales Gallery