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Hew Locke : what have we here? / Hew Locke, Isabel Seligman and Indra Khanna.

Contributor(s): Publication details: London : British Museum, 2024.Description: 192 pages : illustrations (black and white, and colour) ; 25 cmISBN:
  • 9780714123509
Subject(s):
Contents:
Artist's statement
Prologue
Introduction / Isabel Seligman
What have we here?
Dialogue / Indra Khanna and Hew Locke
Epilogue
Further reading
Objects
Summary: Contemporary artist Hew Locke uses the British Museum's collection as a springboard to explore themes of colonialism and cultural interactions. He is interested in dissecting the messy and complex ways in which museums are implicated in histories of empire. 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, 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, Locke hopes to leave readers with more questions than answers.

Published to accompany the exhibition held at the British Museum, London, 17 October 2024 - 9 February 2025.

Includes bibliographical references (p.180) and index.

Artist's statement

Prologue

Introduction / Isabel Seligman

What have we here?

Dialogue / Indra Khanna and Hew Locke

Epilogue

Further reading

Objects

Contemporary artist Hew Locke uses the British Museum's collection as a springboard to explore themes of colonialism and cultural interactions. He is interested in dissecting the messy and complex ways in which museums are implicated in histories of empire. 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, 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, Locke hopes to leave readers with more questions than answers.