London-based British-Guyanese artist Hew Locke expressed disappointment on Instagram after learning that the city of Ostend, Belgium, canceled a site-specific artwork commissioned late last year. The newly-elected city council cited insufficient public consultation before accepting Locke's proposal, which aimed to re-contextualize a statue of former Belgian King Leopold II—a ruler notorious for brutal colonial exploitation in the Congo. Locke offered to extend public consultation and reduce the installation from ten to five years, but received no response. The council's decision was announced without joint press release coordination, and Locke has had no further communication from them.
This cancellation matters because it highlights ongoing tensions in Belgium over colonial monuments and public memory. The statue of Leopold II, a figure associated with genocidal plundering of the Congo, has been targeted by protests in recent years. Locke's project was selected from 12 artists and involved five pillars topped with golden symbols of colonial exploitation, including a severed hand and Leopold's decapitated head. The controversy underscores the challenges artists face when addressing historical trauma through public art, especially when local political shifts can abruptly halt projects that had been officially approved.