Hew Locke is a British contemporary artist born in Brixton, London, and was born in 1959.  Locke graduated from Falmouth University in 1988 with his B.A. in Fine Arts, and then in 1994 he received his M.A. in sculpture from The Royal College of Arts.  Locke is best known for his sculptures and visual art.  Locke drew attention to himself in 2000 when he won a Paul Hamlyn award and the EASTinternational award.  Locke uses an extensive amounts of materials, which includes, but is not limited to: painting, drawing, relief, fabric, sculpture, casting, collage, and found objects.  In the beginning of Locke’s art career he derived from and was inspired by colonial and post colonial history.  This early inspiration, being that the topic was so broad, stemmed off into much more symbolism, motifs, and ideas than Locke originally had anticipated.  Even though all different ideas have stemmed from the colonial and post colonial period his main focus was power.  Early works of his included portraits of queens and monarchial figures, and other upper class figures important to the government; in order to give it contemporary and commercial relevance.  Recently another focal point of Locke’s art work is ships and what they symbolize.  He claims that ships represent trade, culture, and warfare.  Locke says that if he had not pursued his career in art, his obvious alternative career would have been a historian.

The Wine Dark Sea : BB, detail, 2016. Mixed media with hand embroidery, full size 76 x 33 x 98cm