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Hew Locke: Hurricane Season - Des Moines Art Center - Exhibitions - PPOW

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 1, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Every year we are forced to reinvent ourselves, growing
shabbier. Perhaps uncertainty comes from the shifty
breath of Hurricanes, their unlocked eyes revolving
always counterclockwise. Watchful. Unmaking us.

– Olive Senior, Hurricane Watch (2022)

Hew Locke: Hurricane Season - Des Moines Art Center - Exhibitions - PPOW

Hew Locke
Jumbie House 2, 2022
acrylic on wood with metal and textile additions
39 x 64 3/8 x 48 ins.
99.1 x 163.5 x 121.9 cm

Every year from June 1 through November 30, people across the Caribbean archipelago hold their breath. It’s hurricane season. Hurricanes and the devastation they bring have long been a part of life in the Caribbean, but with climate change, these storms are getting far more violent. They pick up steam faster than ever before, leaving little time to prepare. The aftermaths of storms are unbearable and shed light on the living legacy of colonialism and ongoing political corruption. Yet even as the effects of climate change wreak havoc on the region, life across the archipelago continues. People adapt. They weather the storm, even as they are weathered by it.

Hurricane Season features 58 works in a range of media by six artists from across the Caribbean archipelago and its diaspora: Firelei Báez, Lionel Cruet, Teresita Fernández, Tamika Galanis, Deborah Jack, and Hew Locke.

Hew Locke: Hurricane Season - Des Moines Art Center - Exhibitions - PPOW

Hew Locke
Waterside Street, 2013
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

These artists demonstrate the crucial role arts can play in this unfolding crisis by translating data sets and dire predictions into relatable terms, reframing the conversation around how changes in the climate relate to everyday lived experiences as well as to notions of community, family, and home. Through art, they succeed in converting a global crisis into human scale, acknowledging the grim realities of the climate crisis by emphasizing its toll on people and yet, also the possibilities of a better future. It is an exhibition about homes under threat as well as cycles of environmental violence and repair.

Exhibited Works

Exhibited Works Thumbnails
Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 1, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 1, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Jumbie House 2, 2022
acrylic on wood with metal and textile additions
39 x 64 3/8 x 48 ins.
99.1 x 163.5 x 121.9 cm

Hew Locke
Jumbie House 2, 2022
acrylic on wood with metal and textile additions
39 x 64 3/8 x 48 ins.
99.1 x 163.5 x 121.9 cm

Hew Locke
Waterside Street, 2013
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

Hew Locke
Waterside Street, 2013
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

Hew Locke
Rose Hall, 2014
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

Hew Locke
Rose Hall, 2014
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

Hew Locke
The Survivor, 2022
wood and mixed media
88 5/8 x 124 3/4 x 29 1/2 ins.
225 x 317 x 75 cm

Hew Locke
The Survivor, 2022
wood and mixed media
88 5/8 x 124 3/4 x 29 1/2 ins.
225 x 317 x 75 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 2, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 2, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 3, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 3/8 ins.
57.5 x 64.5 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 3, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 3/8 ins.
57.5 x 64.5 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Station Street, Georgetown, 2018
acrylic on chromogenic print
Print: 32 5/8 x 48 5/8 ins.
82.9 x 123.5 cm
Framed: 50 1/2 x 65 1/2 x 1 1/2 ins.
128.3 x 166.4 x 3.8 cm

Hew Locke
Station Street, Georgetown, 2018
acrylic on chromogenic print
Print: 32 5/8 x 48 5/8 ins.
82.9 x 123.5 cm
Framed: 50 1/2 x 65 1/2 x 1 1/2 ins.
128.3 x 166.4 x 3.8 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 1, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 1, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Jumbie House 2, 2022
acrylic on wood with metal and textile additions
39 x 64 3/8 x 48 ins.
99.1 x 163.5 x 121.9 cm

Hew Locke
Jumbie House 2, 2022
acrylic on wood with metal and textile additions
39 x 64 3/8 x 48 ins.
99.1 x 163.5 x 121.9 cm

Hew Locke
Waterside Street, 2013
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

Hew Locke
Waterside Street, 2013
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

Hew Locke
Rose Hall, 2014
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

Hew Locke
Rose Hall, 2014
acrylic on chromogenic print
Sheet: 32 1/8 x 48 1/8 ins.
81.6 x 122.2 cm
Framed: 50 x 65 ins.
127 x 165.1 cm

Hew Locke
The Survivor, 2022
wood and mixed media
88 5/8 x 124 3/4 x 29 1/2 ins.
225 x 317 x 75 cm

Hew Locke
The Survivor, 2022
wood and mixed media
88 5/8 x 124 3/4 x 29 1/2 ins.
225 x 317 x 75 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 2, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 2, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 1/2 ins.
57.5 x 64.8 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 3, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 3/8 ins.
57.5 x 64.5 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Guyana House Boat 3, 2018
watercolor on paper
Sheet: 22 5/8 x 25 3/8 ins.
57.5 x 64.5 cm
Framed: 31 5/8 x 34 3/8 ins.
80.3 x 87.3 cm

Hew Locke
Station Street, Georgetown, 2018
acrylic on chromogenic print
Print: 32 5/8 x 48 5/8 ins.
82.9 x 123.5 cm
Framed: 50 1/2 x 65 1/2 x 1 1/2 ins.
128.3 x 166.4 x 3.8 cm

Hew Locke
Station Street, Georgetown, 2018
acrylic on chromogenic print
Print: 32 5/8 x 48 5/8 ins.
82.9 x 123.5 cm
Framed: 50 1/2 x 65 1/2 x 1 1/2 ins.
128.3 x 166.4 x 3.8 cm