{"id":886,"date":"2025-06-10T13:46:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T20:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=886"},"modified":"2025-06-10T13:46:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T20:46:07","slug":"hew-lockes-odyssey-flotilla-sails-through-global-colonial-history-and-current-affairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=886","title":{"rendered":"Hew Locke\u2019s \u2018Odyssey\u2019 Flotilla Sails Through Global Colonial History and Current Affairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hew<\/p>\n

Through a multidisciplinary approach spanning painting, photography, sculpture, and installation, British artist Hew Locke<\/a> OBE RA interrogates \u201cthe languages of colonial and post-colonial power, and the symbols through which different cultures assume and assert identity,\u201d says P\u00b7P\u00b7O\u00b7W<\/a>, which will present a series of the artists\u2019 boat sculptures at Art Basel<\/a> this month.<\/p>\n

Locke has long been interested in the time-honored traditions and spectrum of histories associated with watercraft. For Those in Peril on the Sea<\/a> <\/em>(2011), for example, incorporated 70 model boats that, when suspended from the ceiling, appeared to float in a colorful, eclectic flotilla. The artist combined customized models along with vessels made from scratch, representing different styles used around the world. \u201cNo crew are visible\u2014the boats themselves are a symbol of the crew and passengers,\u201d a statement says.<\/p>\n

\"a
\u201cOdyssey 17\u201d (2024), mixed media, 26 x 14 5\/8 x 39 3\/8 inches. Photos by Damian Griffiths<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eight new vessels in Locke\u2019s Odyssey <\/em>series will sail through P\u00b7P\u00b7O\u00b7W\u2019s booth at the art fair opening June 19. Representing a range of styles, from wooden gun ships and dreadnoughts to fishing boats and yachts, Locke adds colorful details like flags, painted patterns, patchwork sails, and onboard equipment. <\/p>\n

He invites us to consider the myriad associations with boats as fishing vessels, commuter ferries, military fleets, leisure cruises, and symbols of power, exploration, colonization, global conflict, and migration. As people continue to struggle across open seas in search of better lives, crowding onto ships and embarking on dangerous, or even deadly, voyages, maritime history converges with present-day events and global socio-political realities.<\/p>\n

\u201cFusing historical source material with a keen interest in current affairs, often through the juxtaposition or modification of existing artifacts, Locke focuses attention especially on the U.K., the monarchy, and his childhood home, Guyana,\u201d P\u00b7P\u00b7O\u00b7W says.<\/p>\n

Sailors have also historically been famously superstitious<\/a>, based on the inherent risks of their occupation, and they put a great deal of stock in omens. In \u201cOdyssey 30,\u201d for example, Locke illustrates the vessel\u2019s sails with images of men being haunted by skeletons, an instance of memento mori <\/em>that infuses the piece with a sense of foreboding.<\/p>\n

\"a
\u201cOdyssey 30\u201d (2024), mixed media, 21 5\/8 x 35 7\/8 x 6 3\/4 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Art Basel runs from June 19 to 22 in Basel, Switzerland. From September 2025, an installation titled Cargoes<\/a> <\/em>in King Edward Memorial Park, London, will take inspiration from the history of the site\u2019s mercantile and dock communities. And the largest solo survey of the artist\u2019s work to date, Hew Locke: Passages, <\/em>continues at the Yale Center for British Art<\/a> through January 11, 2026. See more on the artist\u2019s website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a
Installation view of \u2018Hew Locke: Here\u2019s the Thing\u2019 (2019), Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. Photo by Stuart Whipps, courtesy of Ikon Gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"detail
Detail of \u201cOdyssey 30\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cOdyssey 10\u201d (2024), mixed media, 24 3\/4 x 7 1\/2 x 25 5\/8 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cOdyssey 22\u201d (2024), mixed media, 15 3\/8 x 7 7\/8 x 28 3\/4 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Installation view of \u2018Hew Locke: Here\u2019s the Thing\u2019 (2019), Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. Photo by Stuart Whipps, courtesy of Ikon Gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cOdyssey 13\u201d (2024), mixed media, 29 7\/8 x 15 3\/4 x 38 1\/4 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Detail of \u201cOdyssey 30\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cOdyssey 15\u201d (2024), mixed media, 10 1\/4 x 20 1\/2 x 20 1\/2 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Detail of \u201cOdyssey 15\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cOdyssey 25\u201d (2024), mixed media, 26 3\/4 x 20 7\/8 x 14 5\/8 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Detail of \u201cOdyssey 10\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Installation view of \u2018Hew Locke: Here\u2019s the Thing\u2019 (2019), Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. Photo by Stuart Whipps, courtesy of Ikon Gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Hew Locke\u2019s \u2018Odyssey\u2019 Flotilla Sails Through Global Colonial History and Current Affairs<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through a multidisciplinary approach spanning painting, photography, sculpture, and installation, British artist Hew Locke OBE RA interrogates \u201cthe languages of colonial and post-colonial power, and the symbols through which different…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}