What Hew Locke Carries

"Upon first entering the Yale Center for British Art's grand lobby, I am confronted by a trio of ships hung on wires suspended from the ceiling. The bows of "The Survivor" (2022), "The Relic" (2022), and "Desire" (2018) all point in the same direction, and all are loaded with cargo, as if they were plucked from the sea mid-journey and shrunken down to fit inside this gallery. They sway slightly on their strings, as though still remembering the rhythm of the water."

"Though the hulls of "The Relic" and "The Survivor" were recently painted, most of the vessels' parts look rusted, corroded, stained, battered by wind and briny water. Still, they resemble models of vessels that could preserve human life. "The Relic" has a two-room bungalow on stilts that's replete with a staircase, a porch, tilting window shutters, and a corrugated metal roof in wild disrepair."

""The brochure for , Hew Locke's survey exhibition, indicates that this structure is a replica of a British colonial plantation house. If this work is meant to convey the artist's experience as a Guyanese expatriate who has witnessed that nation coming into independence, why take this house with you? And why make a house that's designed to dwell on water?""

Massive suspended ship models fill the lobby, their bows aligned and loaded with jute sacks, potted plants, herbal sprigs, wooden crates, fishing nets, and other veiled supplies. Tattered sails, corroded hulls, and weathered surfaces suggest long sea journeys while still resembling life-preserving vessels. One ship incorporates a two-room bungalow on stilts, a replica of a British colonial plantation house with staircase, porch, shuttered windows, and a corrugated roof in wild disrepair. The works layer themes of migration, colonial history, exile, and survival, posing questions about carrying home across water and the endurance of ghosts and wounds.

Read at Hyperallergic