In the Black Fantastic: Hew Locke x Nick Cave
Hew Locke and Nick Cave are both artists and sculptors whose work featured in the 2022 Hayward Gallery exhibition, In the Black Fantastic.
The similarities between the two don’t end there, as we discover in this fourth and final episode of our podcast series drawing on the themes of the exhibition. In conversation with host Chrystal Genesis the pair discussed, amongst other things, the influence of history – and the history of human experience – on their work, the beauty to be found in imperfection, and a shared admiration and excitement for the next generation of Black artists.
Curated by Ekow Eshun, In the Black Fantastic was an exhibition of 11 contemporary artists from the African diaspora whose work draws on science fiction, myth and Afrofuturism to question our knowledge of the world.
‘I always say that if I wasn’t an artist I would have been a historian, so I ended up being an artist with an interest in history and how we got here.’
Born in Edinburgh Hew Locke is a contemporary artist and sculptor who spent his formative years in Guyana before returning to the UK where he is now based in Brixton, South London. Statues are one of a number recurring themes in Locke’s work, and several of his statue pieces featured within In the Black Fantastic. Also featured in the exhibition was Locke’s ‘How Do You Want Me?’ (2007) – a series of eleven life-size photographs which he produced as a response to the art world’s privileging of one type of ‘authenticity’ over another.
Chicago-based Nick Cave is a sculptor and performance artist who is perhaps best known for his 'Soundsuit' series of bright, wearable other-worldly fabric sculptures often made with found objects – some of which appeared within In the Black Fantastic. Having trained as a dancer, Cave often incorporates dance and performance into his works. Among his other pieces to feature within In the Black Fantastic was the large-scale commission 'Chain Reaction', a dramatic curtain of black casts of the artist’s arm, which hung from the ceiling, joined together through the fingers grasping for each other.
Listen to more podcasts in this series
This podcast series is hosted and executive produced by Chrystal Genesis, produced by Jaja Muhammad, researched by Zara Martin, mixed by Carmela DiClemente, and was conceived by Glen Wilson.
The exhibition of 11 contemporary artists of the African diaspora, from which this conversation drew inspiration, was at Hayward Gallery 29 June–18 September, 2022.