Hew Locke RA (b. Edinburgh, UK, 1959) spent his formative years (1966-80) in Guyana before returning to the UK to complete an MA in Sculpture at Royal College of Art (1994).

Locke’s practice addresses the symbolism of statuary, monarchy and ships; how different cultures fashion their identities through visual symbols of authority; and how these representations are altered by the passage of time. Throughout an extensive and complex practice, Locke remains dedicated to illuminating histories – highlighting the relevance of the past within the context of contemporary culture and politics. Through various motifs, Locke reassesses the figureheads and imagery that represent nationhood. His critique of existing power structures is subtle and open-ended, encouraging the viewer to look more closely.
Across his work, Locke’s ability to fuse existing material and historic sources with his own political or cultural concerns, whether via visual juxtapositions or through the re-working of a pre-existing object or photograph, leads to witty and innovative amalgamations of history and modernity. This layering of time is accompanied by a unique merging of influences from the artist’s native Guyana and London, where Locke now lives and works, leading to richly textured, visually vibrant pieces that stand on a crossroad of histories, cultures and media.

In Locke’s series, Souvenirs (2018-2019), busts of Royal family members are encrusted with found, collected and handmade materials. The statues are made of Parian – a material that imitates marble, invented for the Great Exhibition in the 1850s by Stoke-on-Trent company, Copeland. The development of Parian was revelatory in the mass production of statuary, as the works could be made with a mould, making them accessible for the public to buy (all the busts are originals from the 1800s or made from the original mould). Here, Locke has taken the popular and now rarefied Royal souvenirs and adorned the heads with jewels, crowns, royal crests, skulls, military medals and metal masks.

Edward VII in Masonic Regalia (2019) depicts Edward VII — the eldest son of Queen Victoria, born in 1841. He became King of England and Emperor of India in 1901 until his death in 1910. He was a Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England (the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of Freemasons in England) from 1974 to 1901. The Masons are a hundreds of years old fraternity, a society of men veiled in secrecy, ritual and symbolism. ‘Masonic Regalia’ usually refers to the uniform that Masons wear, including white gloves, sashes, chains. Here, Locke creates an impressive crown and a decorative armour for the King, adorned in a sash and chest piece jewellery suggesting Masonic connections. The bust is heavily layered with British military insignia, which mark colonial occupations. There is a badge for the Royal Leicestershire Regiment — In 1804 the regiment moved to India and remained there until 1823. In 1825 the regiment was granted the badge of a "royal tiger" to recall their long service in the sub-continent. There is a Royal Regiment of Artillery pin which has a royal coat of arms over a canon with the motto “Ubique Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt’ meaning Everywhere Whither Right and Glory Lead. A medal with Queen Victoria in profile has a Uganda 1899 clasp, was awarded to men of the British armed forces in East and Central Africa. A Royal Warwickshire 1stBirmingham Battalion insignia has an Antelope symbol, this regiment were involved in the Second Boer war.
Hew Locke states that the bust is: ‘weighed down by the literal burden of history and this goes back to my idea of how a nation creates itself, what stories it sells to itself and how this relates to ideas of Britain and its history that are weighing down the minds of people today.’

Hannah Clugston wrote in the Guardian: ‘Each individual bust reveals the history and legacy of the British royal family – the good and the bad. Some of the nuances of these items will remain hidden to anyone but Locke, who has spent his career constructing, collecting and researching. But it doesn’t really matter, because the final pieces are exquisitely beautiful, with enough detail to keep even casual historians captivated.’

Souvenirs series draws attention to the stories behind the figures, not destroying them but instead illuminating a past that is often glossed over. The pertinent work leads to a greater understanding of the legacies of iconography and are a timely contribution to a conversation about the histories and meanings of public monuments and statues.