Hew Locke : what have we here?

Explores the complex relationship between museums, empire, and cultural heritage, using his art to question how historical narratives are constructed and interpreted.

Hew Locke is interested in dissecting the messy and complex ways in which museums are implicated in histories of empire. ‘This project has enabled me to engage with the museum’s collections in a much deeper way than ever before, and in a way few artists have had the privilege of doing. I have always been interested in the way objects are interpreted through display in museums. What story has been distilled and is being told or implied about the past? How does it relate to the present? How can this telling be questioned, disrupted, or complicated?’

Throughout his career, Locke has had an intense fascination with objects and the stories they tell. His interest in the British Museum goes back to his days as a student in London, when he would visit the Museum of Mankind (where the British Museum’s ethnography department was housed from 1970 to 1997) to draw from the collections.

The Museum’s history and collections are closely linked to those of the British Empire, which this book addresses alongside a consideration of today’s often contentious and deeply felt debates around cultural heritage. Focusing on Britain’s historic interactions with Africa, India and the Caribbean from around 1600 onwards, all of which had an impact on Guyana (where Locke grew up), Locke creates a personal exploration of the subject, weaving in his own works such as the Souvenir series, Share series and a new commission titled The Watchers. Using interventionist techniques to reframe the collection’s historical objects, the artist hopes to leave readers with more questions than answers.

‘A remarkable book… a precious album or scrapbook of ideas, insights and specially chosen images of objects that have a multitude of stories to tell.’ – Art Africa magazine ‘What have we here? presents us with the overlooked and excluded segments of British legacy, utilising the power of art to question what we already know, and what there is yet to learn.’ – Palatinate Together with his own artworks, contemporary artist Hew Locke uses the British Museum’s collection as a springboard to explore themes of colonialism and cultural interactions. Hew Locke is interested in dissecting the messy and complex ways in which museums are implicated in histories of empire. ‘This project has enabled me to engage with the museum’s collections in a much deeper way than ever before, and in a way few artists have had the privilege of doing. I have always been interested in the way objects are interpreted through display in museums. What story has been distilled and is being told or implied about the past? How does it relate to the present? How can this telling be questioned, disrupted, or complicated?’ The British Museum’s history and collections are closely linked to those of the British Empire, which this book addresses alongside a consideration of today’s often contentious and deeply felt debates around cultural heritage. Focusing on Britain’s historic interactions with Africa, India and the Caribbean from around 1600 onwards, all of which had an impact on Guyana (where Locke grew up), Locke creates a personal exploration of the subject, weaving in his own works such as the Souvenir series and a new commission titled The Watchers. Using interventionist techniques to reframe the collection’s historical objects, the artist hopes to leave readers with more questions than answers.