Catalogue relating to an exhibition, 2005
Published by: The New Art Gallery Walsall
Year published: 2005
Number of pages: 136
ISBN: 0 946652 77

A substantial hardbound catalogue produced to accompany an exhibition of Hew Locke’s work, held at The New Art Gallery Walsall, in 2005. Locke’s distinctive work is widely celebrated for what sometimes appear at first glance to be somewhat offbeat and slightly eccentric sculptural forms, including renditions of prominent members of the British royal family. Closer inspection of his work reveals, for some, much more intellectually textured and heavily nuanced readings. Kris Kuramitsu, who wrote the essay for the Hew Locke catalogue for this exhibition, described the artist’s practice as follows: “Locke has created an ongoing series of portrait heads of the Royal Family that he calls simply “The House of Windsor“. Locke engages with notions of empire by engaging with the embodiment of that power itself, playing with with our great symbolic investment in these individuals. It might seem impossible to successfully intervene in these images, as it is so easy for them to become dismissable cartoons. But Locke renders them with a lavish attention that denies a simple negative reading. “The House of Windsor“ includes charcoal drawings, elaborately cut and monochromatically painted cardboard heads on a monumental scale, and a series of collaged object portraits, such as Black Queen (2004). Using mass-produced plastic toys and decorations, found in pound shops and second-hand stores, Locke paints portraits of the Queen through artful accumulation”

Hew Locke produces work that does not simply disavow the colonial past, but acknowledges its foundational role in a contemporary urban postcoloniality……

Catalogue features Foreword by Deborah Robinson, Senior Exhibitions Curator, The New Art Gallery Walsall. Essay “King Creole - Hew Locke’s New Visions of Empire“ by Kris Kuramitsu, followed by “A Sargasso Sea-Hoard of Deciduous Things“ Hew Locke and Sarat Maharaj in conversation. Extensively illustrated with full colour plates throughout. Artist’s CV, List of Works and acknowledgments at the back of the catalogue. 136 pages.