On 7 June 2020, a group of Black Lives Matter protestors in Bristol pushed a statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston into the nearby docks. The action of removing the towering bronze sparked international debate over the value that is placed on monuments, drawing attention to the traumatic histories they often represent. In 2021, Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke (b. 1959) was commissioned for Tate Britain鈥檚 annual commission. The resulting project looks to the past, present and future to question nationhood, bringing people together in an age of ideological divide and social anxiety.
The Procession, which is now on view at the Baltic, Gateshead, draws on universal experiences of togetherness during periods of activism, celebration, mourning and religion. Visitors come face-to-face with human-sized sculptures that parade through the gallery鈥檚 vast hall. Each uncanny figure contributes to the wider narrative of global financial and colonial control, as golden boat badges and fabric share certificates adorn garments. In its original context at the Tate Britain, an institution which was largely financed by sugar refining magnate Henry Tate (1819-1899), the work emphasised 鈥渢he historical after-effects of the sugar business,鈥 according to the artist, 鈥渁lmost drawing it out of the walls of the building.鈥 At the Baltic, links between the Industrial Revolution and the British Empire echo around the room.
These subtle, yet crucial, symbolic embellishments wait to be sought out by viewers, lurking in a wider wash of carnivalesque celebration, colour and costume. In this way, the large-scale installation points to the unconscious 鈥渃ultural baggage鈥 that flows through our daily lives, as well as the layered construction of personal and collective identity. 鈥淚t is highly detailed, and that鈥檚 deliberate, so it will give reward to longer viewing,鈥 reflects Locke. 鈥淭here are lots of little bits of evidence, hints and clues. The piece can be read as a sort of puzzle, which you can piece together. There鈥檚 a complicated, messy kind of beauty.鈥 By slowing down, the true gravity of the past begins to come to light, with viewers physically and metaphorically joining the march as they uncover with the colonial histories that built Britain.
The surreal yet exuberant piece also questions the formation of power and national treasures, morphing into a 鈥渘ational collective unconsciousness,鈥 which changes and evolves overtime. For example, the anonymous ensemble鈥檚 intangible energy now evokes images of strikes. In February 2023, reported that up to half a million people walked out of their public sector workplace, causing major disruption to schools, trains, universities and border checks. With this in mind, urgent questions arise: Who should be immortalised in stone? Are statues relevant to modern life? Locke’s The Procession unites rather than divides through these debates, engaging with the sticky web of history whilst providing hope for the future. 鈥淚t is a positive movement of people 鈥 they鈥檙e moving into another life,鈥 states the artist. 鈥淭hey may be coming from difficult times, they may be heading through difficult times, but there鈥檚 an energy there which is about hope. The future. Let鈥檚 make something positive.鈥
Hew Locke: The Procession
| Until 11 June
Words: Saffron Ward
Image Credits: Hew Locke:聽The Procession, installation view at Baltic, Gateshead.聽Photo: John McKenzie聽漏 2023 Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.
