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The Procession implores us to imagine the social, political and cultural possibilities of the future
Image: The Procession, (c) Tate Photography, Joe Humphrys
In a time of huge social and financial instability, with collective public action rising, Hew Locke raises a standard (almost literally) in his installation piece The Procession, which is at BALTIC from Saturday 18th February to Sunday 11th June.
The Guyana raised artist has always held a concern for social movement, having arrived in the South American country from Edinburgh just in time to see independence achieved. Now, his work is directly concerned with culture, colonialism and “the echoes of history”, as he puts it.
In The Procession, originally exhibited at Tate Britain, viewers will find a large amount of sculpture in a variety of mediums. Locke favours the use of fabrics and cardboard, alternating freely between lavish, colourful pieces and rougher materials, giving the work an effect of high sensory stimulation.
Locke describes the work as being akin to an epic poem, something that sits deep in our culture and forms part of our identity. He implores us to empathise with the sculpted figures, who, he says, are defiant, but ultimately about hope: “a positive movement of people” that invites us to walk, understand and identify with them, and to imagine the social, political and cultural possibilities of the future.
Hew Locke: The Procession is at BALTIC, Gateshead from Saturday 18th February to Sunday 11th June.
