Hew Lockemakes art works in a wide range of media including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, installation and performance. His work investigates the languages of colonial and post-colonial power through the fusing of historical source material with a keen interest in current affairs.

Hew was born in Edinburgh in 1959, lived in Georgetown Guyana from 1966 -1980, returning to the UK to study BA Fine Art at Falmouth (1988) and MA Sculpture at the Royal College of Art (1994). He was winner of the Paul Hamlyn Award and the East International Award in 2000 and currently has an exhibition of his work, Here’s the Thing at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, 8 March – 2 June 2019.

Locke’s preoccupation with governmental power structures, iconographies and legacies and his interest in ideas of Britishness within a global context are explored through the process of layering materials, objects and time. Modifying existing public statues, creating models of specific historical boats and enhancing images of the British monarchy are all strategies used in Locke’s work to encourage a re-examination of historical narratives and how these relate to continually transforming questions of nationhood and cultural identities.

Images of ships and boats recur in Locke’s work evoking centuries of naval warfare, exploitation and unfair trade. Boats become symbols of cultural imperialism but also images of travel, adventure and opportunities.

Locke’s work is in many international collections including, The Government Art Collection, The Perez Art Museum Miami, The Tate Gallery, The Arts Council of England, The National Trust, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Brooklyn Museum, New York, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Imperial War Museum, The British Museum and The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds.