The Yale Center for British Art opens "Passages," the most comprehensive exhibition of Hew Locke's work to date, featuring nearly 50 works spanning three decades. Central to the show is a site-specific installation of Locke's ship sculptures, three of which are suspended in the foyer of the museum's Louis I. Kahn building. The exhibition will travel to the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In an interview, Locke discusses his studio practice, his ongoing exploration of imperialism's symbolism, and his plans for new bronzes and prints.
This exhibition matters because it consolidates Locke's decades-long career of confronting and reframing the aesthetic and sociopolitical legacies of colonialism, using ships as a recurring motif to critique extractive violence and conquest. By staging this work in the United States, Locke highlights the shared colonial history between Britain and America, making the themes directly relevant to American audiences. The show also underscores the growing institutional recognition of artists who address postcolonial narratives in contemporary art.