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Hew Locke: Raw Materials 27

Dawn Adès*†Dawn Adès*††

Dawn Ades CBE FBA is Professor Emerita of the History and Theory of Art, University of Essex, Professor of the History of Art at the Royal Academy and former trustee of Tate and of the National Gallery. Publications include Photomontage (Thames & Hudson, 1976, revised 1986 and 2022), Dalí (Thames & Hudson, 1982, revised 1995 and 2022), Marcel Duchamp (with Neil Cox & David Hopkins, Thames & Hudson, 1999 and 2022) and Selected Writings on Art and Anti-Art (Ridinghouse, 2015).

dawnadesemail@gmail.com

,
in conversation with Hew Locke‡Hew Locke‡‡

Dr Hew Locke OBE RA was born in Edinburgh, raised in Guyana and lives in London. His work often fuses historic sources with political or cultural concerns. Public statuary and national symbols have long been of interest. In 2022, his acclaimed installation ‘The Procession’ was commissioned by Tate Britain. He recently curated the exhibition ‘What Have We Here?’ at The British Museum. His public artworks include ‘The Jurors’, marking 800 years of Magna Carta, in Runnymede. This year his series of bronze boats ‘Cargoes’, reflecting the history of trade on the Thames, will be unveiled in King Edward Memorial Park in Wapping.

Abstract

Extracted from a conversation between Professor Dawn Adès FBA and artist Dr Hew Locke, in this essay Hew Locke discusses the historical backgrounds and personal experiences that went into the creation of his artwork Raw Materials 27. Acquired by the British Academy in 2024, and now hanging on its main staircase, the collaged work explores the colonial entanglements of Guyana, Hew Locke’s original homeland, and its post-colonial histories. From the foundation object of a share certificate, standing for 19th-century exploitation and mineral extraction, the discussion ranges from decay and appropriation to the potential for revival.

Keywords

artworkGuyanacolonialpost-colonial history
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Normal View Dyslexic View

Hew Locke: Raw Materials 27

Dawn Adès*†Dawn Adès*††

Dawn Ades CBE FBA is Professor Emerita of the History and Theory of Art, University of Essex, Professor of the History of Art at the Royal Academy and former trustee of Tate and of the National Gallery. Publications include Photomontage (Thames & Hudson, 1976, revised 1986 and 2022), Dalí (Thames & Hudson, 1982, revised 1995 and 2022), Marcel Duchamp (with Neil Cox & David Hopkins, Thames & Hudson, 1999 and 2022) and Selected Writings on Art and Anti-Art (Ridinghouse, 2015).

dawnadesemail@gmail.com

,
in conversation with Hew Locke‡Hew Locke‡‡

Dr Hew Locke OBE RA was born in Edinburgh, raised in Guyana and lives in London. His work often fuses historic sources with political or cultural concerns. Public statuary and national symbols have long been of interest. In 2022, his acclaimed installation ‘The Procession’ was commissioned by Tate Britain. He recently curated the exhibition ‘What Have We Here?’ at The British Museum. His public artworks include ‘The Jurors’, marking 800 years of Magna Carta, in Runnymede. This year his series of bronze boats ‘Cargoes’, reflecting the history of trade on the Thames, will be unveiled in King Edward Memorial Park in Wapping.