The Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut is currently presenting “Hew Locke: Passages,” a comprehensive survey of the British Guyanese artist’s career spanning over 30 years. Located on the museum’s second floor, the exhibition includes nearly 50 works showcasing Locke’s evolving visual language across media. From his earliest charcoal sketches to recent immersive pieces made from found and repurposed materials, “Passages” explores themes of storytelling, symbolism and history. The artist’s presence during the press review added valuable insight into the themes and context of the exhibition.
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Locke moved with his family to Georgetown, Guyana in 1966, shortly after the country gained independence from Great Britain. This historic moment became a foundational influence on his work, sparking a lifelong inquiry into how national histories are constructed, and how they shape personal and collective identities. Throughout the exhibition, recurring themes of power, colonial legacy and the enduring presence of the past emerge.
Drawing remains central to Locke’s practice, but he moves fluidly across mediums, using each work to examine how authority is represented, contested or commemorated in public space. Sculpture, in particular, has become a key medium through which Locke interrogates authority and legacy. Many of his works engaged the tradition of public monuments, prompting viewers to ask: Who are the figures we’ve immortalized in bronze and stone? Who decided they should tower, physically and metaphorically, over us? In response, Locke constructs his own monumental forms, richly adorned and layered with meaning, challenging dominant narratives. This critical engagement is shaped, in part, by his creative lineage: his mother was a painter, his father a sculptor; it’s evident in his seamless blending of fine art and cultural critique.