The Procession by Hew Locke, Donald Locke’s son, is on view until January 2023 at Tate Britain. This commissioned work which Hew created specifically for the Tate encourages viewers to “reflect on the cycles of history, and the ebb and flow of cultures, people and finance and power” by immersing them in the procession.
As Tate Britain explains, “A procession is part and parcel of the cycle of life; people gather and move together to celebrate worship, protest, mourn, escape or even to better themselves.”
With around 150 handmade, individually designed figures that cross space and time, Locke blurs the line between past, present, and even future, examining and asserting the legacies of slavery, colonialism, and the sugar industry at Tate Britain, while inevitably pushing viewers to reexamine their own participation in such systems of oppression.
As the Guardian explains, “The Procession unpacks some of this problematic history, as well as taking Caribbean carnival, the story of post-colonial trade, empire and the current environmental disaster in its stride. Past and present collide and intermingle, throwing up echoes and asides. A mix of Junkanoo and Guyanese Mashramani carnivals, protest and celebration, defiance and redress, The Procession is endlessly captivating and overwhelming.”
Artwork by both Donald Locke and Hew Locke were also featured in Tate Britain’s adjoining gallery in the Life Between Islands exhibit, which was on view through April 2, 2022.
The Procession is on view from March 22, 2022 – January 22, 2023.
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