#england art shows

[longlistshort]

For Hew Locke’s exhibition, Listening to the Land, at P.P.O.W. he has created intricate sculptures and paintings that are fascinating in person.

From the press release-

Locke is known for exploring the languages of colonial and post-colonial power, and the symbols through which different cultures assume and assert identity. Furthering the themes explored in his celebrated commission The Procession at Tate Britain, and his concurrent installation Gilt on the façade of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, this exhibit engages with contemporary and historical inequities while reflecting on the landscape and history of the Caribbean. The exhibition draws its title from a poem by Guyanese political activist and poet Martin Carter which situates itself between two opposing forces of the landscape – sea and forest. Locke’s show features new sculptures and wall works with recurring motifs of stilt-houses, boats, memento mori, and share certificates referencing tensions between the land, the sea, and economic power. Reflecting on these links, Locke notes, “The land was created to generate money for colonial power, now the sea wants it back.”

Translating to ‘land of many waters,’ Guyana and its physical, economic, and political landscape serve as one of the primary sources for Locke’s work. Having spent his childhood in this newly independent nation, the artist witnessed first-hand an era of radical transformation. Now, the country teeters on the precipice of an oil boom and is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Juxtaposing personal meditations on the climate crisis with political commentary on the history of a globalized world, Locke contemplates the ways in which colonies were exploited to accumulate capital, and observes how Guyana’s economic future lies in the exploitation of its waters. Locke’s new boat sculptures The Relic and The Survivor embody this broad worldview as the two battered wrecks drift through time and history. Evoking the fragmented and diverse legacies of the global diaspora, the boats’ patchwork sails are interspersed with photo transfers of 19th Century cane cutters and banana boat loaders, while their decks are loaded with cargo that could allude to colonial plunder, trade goods or personal belongings.

Based on an abandoned plantation house, Locke’s newest sculpture Jumbie House 2 features layered images that unveil the spirits that haunt this colonial vestige. Presented alongside are a series of painted photographs of dilapidated vernacular architecture across Georgetown and rural Guyana. Constantly under threat of being washed away by storms or rising sea levels, these crumbling structures echo anxieties surrounding climate change and historical erasure. A new series of mixed media wall works, Raw Materials, is derived from antique share certificates and bonds. Locke richly decorates the appliques with acrylic, beads, and patchwork to draw attention to the complex ways in which the past shapes the present. The image of an 1898 Chinese Imperial Gold Loan behind painted Congolese figures connects the global economy at the height of Empire to current Sino-African trade networks. In another work, a painted representation of a Nigerian Ife mask, alongside an image of David Livingstone, is layered on a French-African Mortgage Bond from 1923, connecting exploration and exploitation of African land, to current conversations surrounding the repatriation of artifacts. Taken together, the works in Locke’s Listening to the Land echo William Faulkner’s adage “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

This exhibition closes 4/1/23.

The Procession, mentioned above, can now be seen at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, in Gateshead, England until June 11th, 2023.

Gilt, also mentioned above, is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art until May 30th, 2023.

[sunnylolli]

A small alternative text, because imagining England thinking to himself that, maybe in another life and another time, he has an ordinary life - And that life is just my Punk Dad Au

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Cinder again!!!

[taniatas]

[abnosome1]

Hon.

[sarasade]

Backstory headcanon- Harrow and Viren met at a small pastoral village where the royal family used to spend their summers and where Viren lived as Kpp’Ar’s apprentice

[straystarship]

The boys doin a silly meme dance (wip)

Probably won’t be done for another week but i just like how dumb their faces look :^)

[novuit]

I'm actually making a little England desktop pet right now and I'm just designing some of his poses for later when I actually need to add my own sprites. I'm coding his dialogue and stuff rn and let me tell you: at the moment, he's a bit twatty sassy but he's definitely the most entertaining

Yes, I want to make his balls clickable. Also, I really want to put him in different outfits to use the built in dress-up feature but I really can't be bothered right now lol, perhaps when I finish this first.

[hetagrammy]

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Full credit to @temtamtom for the Vatican design, he is canon to me now

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[pastelsugar6w6]

Queen Alfred of the Fae

nsft-ish below cut

[goldenstarprincesses]

There is one thing and one thing only that Matthew holds resentment towards his brother about 

It's not about Alfred being the world's only superpower. Not about Alfred's wealth. Not about Alfred clearly being Arthurs preferred son. Not even that Francis has historically always seeming gravitated towards being Alfred's mentor. All those things he can live with or has learned to live with.  

The thing that he holds the most resentment about? Alfred uses 5 in 1 Irish Spring and Dial bar soap yet has prefect hair and skin. All while Matthew spends thousands of dollars every year on expensive hair care and skincare products in the never-ending battle to get his acne prone skin and fly-away soft curly hair under control.

And to make matters worse, the Dial soap is actually a new addition to Alfred's routine. He was finally convinced to stop using homemade wood ash soap in the late 70s.

[somebooksbelonginthesinbin]

If you haven’t it’s in the realm of the Ella Enchanted style (historical but also modern). It’s very silly and dramatic and you should watch it with some friends.

[xghostthedog]

My attempt at a scene from the Hetalia Horror Show but in a PC-98 style

Also the first in a very long time that I've drawn America, England and Spain lmao

[travelling-my-little-pony]

Cherry Blossom is pleased to find a floral display that matches her own colours so nicely.

At the Devon Show, in England.

[giorgiamzzl]

Love him

[magicalflowernerd00]

My dear, I love that summer is coming though but ,I love autumn aesthetic too much ! What can one do ?

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