Hew Locke: The Procession
Walking amongst elderly white pensioners navigating around little blond children drawing Hew Locke’s figures on their half-term museum visit, I couldn’t help but experience deja vu to the first time I attended Notting Hill Carnival. I was at the party, but not really part of it.
Figures with stern faces and sometimes monstrous masks “march” through the length of Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries reclaiming cultural and colonial baggage. It comes hot on the heels of their phenomenal Life Between Islands show, and is another statement exhibit in Tate’s continued attempts to both bring to light a wider range of non-white artists and culture, as well as navigate the “historical after-effects of the sugar business” of founder Henry Tate.
The full exhibition guide details the relevance of various symbols and signs, but you only need to have seen a Carnival procession once to appreciate the display. For those who haven’t, you just need to open your eyes. It’s hard to miss the clothing made of colonial British imagery, or the painted stock share flags.
It’s much less party than protest, reiterated by the taped down floor lines you’re not allowed to cross. At times I was amused, confused, maybe even a little scared. It was hard not to feel acutely aware of my white privilege, and that only made me want to learn much more.
At Tate Britain (@Tate) until 22 Jan 2023.
Click here to read the full Exhibition Guide.
Visit hewlocke.net or his Wikipedia page for more information on the artist.
Bonus:
Here’s a slowed-down time-lapse video to try to give you a sense of just how extensive this installation is, which spans the entire length of the 300 feet long Duveen Galleries. I think I read somewhere that there may be 150 people in this?!