Wow. What a great guy with a wonderful take on this difficult history. Congratulations to the curators and the museum itself on making this much needed show/exhibit happen.
An interesting conversation. Hew Locke is so right that *everyone* was involved in the slave trade. The trading beads are so poignant: that tribal leaders and influential families would sell their own people (often vulnerable individuals) for beads. How have their descendants profited from the slave trade? It is not often discussed. Both Africans and Europeans are guilty of involvement in slavery. We also don't discuss the ongoing slavery in Africa today, especially concerning orphans resulting from AIDS. I am sure we shall discover more in the coming years. I am looking forward to seeing the exhibition next week.
This is definitely beautiful and complicated, and its beautiful complexity well unfolded. Alas, toucans do - if rarely - do that, but then so do pregnant or starving deer. It's opportunistic rapacity rather than habitual savagery, though that doesn't take away from the curatorial message.
It’s so vital to have the Locke’s counter narrative against the colonial propaganda (the mentality still exists today) and its continued generational effects of the ancestors of the enslaved and the whole population. Also, it was refreshing to see Locke make the decision not to show Black bodies always brutalized.
The push back against this/your, comment speaks worlds of colonial thinking, still being alive and well. Many, totally miss the point of this exhibit and discussion. Talking total shite about "the past". They Are Soooooo Present Tense.
The integrated exhibition's success depended on Hew Locke's ability to recognize that the subject of slavery needed to be in the forefront, not his artwork.
I'm so thankful for those great visionaries of the past who have left the British Museum with so much of the worlds history in one place for the public to enjoy.
Skulls, lots of skulls on the three royal figures. Mr Locke tells about “medals”, obliterates the numerous skulls on each figure, the curator doesn’t pronounce the word either - maybe they did off-camera - and there we go to the not beautiful boatie mcboat. So shocking, my dear, so shocking. “We are not amused” (Vickie didn’t say that really but she rather said “The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.”)
I learnt something new today. Not specifically from the video but from fact checking on reader's comments. There is much talk of the Benin bronzes. The bronze used was sourced from Germany and obtained by trading their own people for metal. Perhaps we shouldn't return the bronzes after all. On a different note, I also discovered that the Elgin marbles were sold to Elgin because the authorities were fed up with the local Greeks stealing stones from the Parthenon to grind up for mortar. The Greeks apparently had no interest in their history at the time. So Elgin actually saved the stones. Now that I know that, I don't think we should be discussing loaning or giving back the Elgin marbles. Why aren't we given all the facts? Shouldn't the British Museum be telling the whole story?
*The Burden of History: Artist Hew Locke and the British Museum's Colonial Legacy* * *0:00** Introduction:* Artist Hew Locke collaborates with curators at the British Museum to explore the history of colonialism through juxtaposing artifacts and his own artwork. The exhibition aims to raise questions about the museum's connection to empire and its impact on contemporary culture. * *1:05** Queen Victoria:* Locke discusses his piece featuring a damaged statue of Queen Victoria, highlighting its symbolism of Guyana's struggle with colonial history and the changing interpretations of such monuments. * *2:26** Parian Busts:* Locke adorns mass-produced busts of 19th-century royalty with medals and jewelry, representing the "burden of history" and the complicated legacies of colonialism. * *4:07** The Brookes Slaver Ship Painting:* Locke contrasts a seemingly charming naval portrait of The Brookes with trade beads, emphasizing the hidden realities of the slave trade. He discusses the importance of acknowledging the pro-slavery sentiment that existed alongside abolitionist movements. * *6:16** The Watchers:* Locke explains his use of figures called "The Watchers," positioned to observe viewers and prompt reflection on their role in this history. * *8:50** Asante Gold Soul Washer Disc and Cannon:* Locke discusses two looted items: a medieval English jug venerated by the Asante and later seized by the British, and a large cannon, highlighting the diverse forms loot can take. * *10:50** Maria Sibylla Merian's Drawings and Stedman's Narrative:* Locke pairs Merian’s seemingly idyllic Surinam nature drawings with Stedman's depiction of plantation violence, exposing the underlying tension of colonial life. He avoids stereotypical depictions of brutality, opting for a more nuanced approach. * *17:17** Soul Washer Disc and Indemnity:* The Soul Washer Disc, seized from the Asante king as part of a war indemnity, serves as a trophy of colonial conquest. * *18:05** Exhibition's Aim:* Locke aims to create a beautiful yet problematic exhibition that fosters dialogue and leaves viewers with more questions than answers about the complexities of colonial history. I used gemini-1.5-pro on rocketrecap dot com to summarize the transcript. Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $0.04 Input tokens: 26766 Output tokens: 454
Ahh the old "hew lock" expression..... of course that came from "oh look" as in oi whats at mate? It was a carribean expression originating from the old cockney and a splash of hot potato..... the usage started when they heard queen victoria say 'hew lock' when really she was saying oh look!
This is an important and amazing exhibition, but I can’t shake the fact that it is paying lip service to what the British Museum (and the British as a state) is actually doing as a colonial institution, still perpetuating colonial acts.
looking at Benin Bronzes giving away by the head of state of that country to some croney, robbing his people from their heritage: no, don't do it! Even if I think it's probably the right thing to do... things are complicated.
Why? The marbles were sold to Elgin because the authorities were fed up with the Greeks stealing stones to grind up for mortar. If Elgin hadn't bought them, they probably wouldn't exist. The Benin bronze are a different story, they were stolen.
Curators' Tour of Hew Locke: What have we here? exhibition at the British Museum 1638pm 2.1.25 i dont mind the odd juxtaposition. as for colonialism: it is not a specific time or place. overlordship of anther is not part and parcel of western suppression of all others. as much as the nowadays narrative is trying to suggest.
What business is it of the museum to hire folk in to re write our history. Brits would generally be quite proud of empire and accept that the slave trade was a normal part of operations in the past.
If that was a question for me ... ? I would not be querying facts since the gentleman here was giving his own thoughts and as he was a guest of the museum using his own talents to create an interpretation He was a guest there. My bitch is other. Interpretation is so easily political. I don't think the Museum should be doing politics of any kind and certainly not social engineering of the recently fashionable progressive liberal sort. Outside their remit might be a way to put it.
@@causewaykayak The way a museum chooses to present artefacts will always betray a position or opinion. Even something as simple as choosing which objects to display, and which to not. If anything, I see it as a strength of Britain that we have a mature and nuanced understanding of our own history and aren't afraid to show and challenge its darker parts. Many countries in the world would do no such thing.
Thank you Julius. Nicely written. The notion that our UK nations have a dark past is already something that I would take issue with. That sounds like the revisionists beloved by BBC, Chanel 4 and the Guardian. A lot of us might quite like the idea that our forefathers in our small impoverished islands could get out there with aggressive trading and muster a military to support it. Rightly or Wrongly we worked together with the native African supply chain to ship populations halfway round the planet to create great wealth, civil and military employment for our people. We never need feel ashamed about that. Too bad the spoiled salon class took upon themselves to break this up.
@causewaykayak Right well, I vehemently disagree. We have a history comprising people like Shakespeare and Darwin yet you glorify conquerors and slave traders. Frankly you should reconsider some things if you find that admirable.
I think, while interesting, we have more in common with African nations now as our populations want, increasingly, hand outs from the government, which over taxes our private enterprises & therefore economic growth, just like an African Nation......
@cat_terrell I was trying to point out that lack of innovation and private sector growth is a function of lefty policies and people wanting handouts / their cut etc. like those of Africa (only difference being a lack of ability to tax the plebs). I think you will find the very rich leave the UK as they may well do in Africa too (certainly in Somalia), to stay on topic.... Our nation has more in common than we realize.
@22terrytibbs That's the 2-sided, Trick against all the people. The Uber wealthy don't care about political leaders or parties. Oh, they Say they Do. But, They Don't. There's plenty of innovation. It gets squashed by banking & corporate 2 party systems everywhere. Divide and conquer is their motto. It's as old as civilization in all parts of the world for resources. All civilizations are destined to collapse. History rhymes or repeats. If only we could Learn from it, instead.✌🏽
@@22terrytibbs14 years of terrible financial mismanagement by a conservative government who only gave handouts to their rich friends, but sure, 6 months of labour government is to blame for all our problems 🤓
This was a fantastic journey to start my 2025. Thank you for all the "behind the scenes thinking" that is so deeply embedded in this art.
+
Wow. What a great guy with a wonderful take on this difficult history. Congratulations to the curators and the museum itself on making this much needed show/exhibit happen.
It is very informative to hear the reasoning behind an exhibit such as this.
I’d love to have everyone who works at or with the BM to dinner. You are all amazing people! Thank you.
So brilliant, a must see
An interesting conversation. Hew Locke is so right that *everyone* was involved in the slave trade. The trading beads are so poignant: that tribal leaders and influential families would sell their own people (often vulnerable individuals) for beads. How have their descendants profited from the slave trade? It is not often discussed. Both Africans and Europeans are guilty of involvement in slavery.
We also don't discuss the ongoing slavery in Africa today, especially concerning orphans resulting from AIDS. I am sure we shall discover more in the coming years.
I am looking forward to seeing the exhibition next week.
I love the concept of the exhibit! And so nice to see the museum being open about how it got many of the artifacts
You had me spellbound. Thank you so much!
Many thanks; this was such a fabulous, important and moving exhibition to be shown and described.
This is definitely beautiful and complicated, and its beautiful complexity well unfolded.
Alas, toucans do - if rarely - do that, but then so do pregnant or starving deer. It's opportunistic rapacity rather than habitual savagery, though that doesn't take away from the curatorial message.
amazing and necessary
How long will this exhibition be going? I can’t get back there in 2025 but I will be in 2026.
Thank you for doing this very important work.
It’s so vital to have the Locke’s counter narrative against the colonial propaganda (the mentality still exists today) and its continued generational effects of the ancestors of the enslaved and the whole population.
Also, it was refreshing to see Locke make the decision not to show Black bodies always brutalized.
What nonsense.
We chose to let the past effects us.
We can chose also to be grateful of the fruits of British colonialism
The push back against this/your, comment speaks worlds of colonial thinking, still being alive and well. Many, totally miss the point of this exhibit and discussion. Talking total shite about "the past". They Are Soooooo Present Tense.
@ Exactly. Noted the mindset still exists today and those commenters proved my point precisely. Wishing a Happy New Year! 🎊
@@laranich The mindset as you call it is quite healthy. Colonisation is alive and well in the modern world.
Am I hearing stuff or does he say "shit boy, I lived to see this." @ 3:50 lol
Obrigado pelo áudio em português do Brasil!
The integrated exhibition's success depended on Hew Locke's ability to recognize that the subject of slavery needed to be in the forefront, not his artwork.
His artwork tells his story
If only I lived closer. This is an exhibition I'd like to lose a few hours in.
I'm so thankful for those great visionaries of the past who have left the British Museum with so much of the worlds history in one place for the public to enjoy.
Concerned that maybe you missed the point of the exhibition?
Skulls, lots of skulls on the three royal figures. Mr Locke tells about “medals”, obliterates the numerous skulls on each figure, the curator doesn’t pronounce the word either - maybe they did off-camera - and there we go to the not beautiful boatie mcboat. So shocking, my dear, so shocking. “We are not amused” (Vickie didn’t say that really but she rather said “The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.”)
“Beautifully dramatic.” It really is. You both didn’t mince your word about looting and slavery. Thank you for that.
I learnt something new today. Not specifically from the video but from fact checking on reader's comments. There is much talk of the Benin bronzes. The bronze used was sourced from Germany and obtained by trading their own people for metal. Perhaps we shouldn't return the bronzes after all.
On a different note, I also discovered that the Elgin marbles were sold to Elgin because the authorities were fed up with the local Greeks stealing stones from the Parthenon to grind up for mortar. The Greeks apparently had no interest in their history at the time. So Elgin actually saved the stones. Now that I know that, I don't think we should be discussing loaning or giving back the Elgin marbles. Why aren't we given all the facts? Shouldn't the British Museum be telling the whole story?
Only after contact with Europeans did they start using manilas, prior to contact with Europeans they were knowledgeable with Metallurgy.
*The Burden of History: Artist Hew Locke and the British Museum's Colonial Legacy*
* *0:00** Introduction:* Artist Hew Locke collaborates with curators at the British Museum to explore the history of colonialism through juxtaposing artifacts and his own artwork. The exhibition aims to raise questions about the museum's connection to empire and its impact on contemporary culture.
* *1:05** Queen Victoria:* Locke discusses his piece featuring a damaged statue of Queen Victoria, highlighting its symbolism of Guyana's struggle with colonial history and the changing interpretations of such monuments.
* *2:26** Parian Busts:* Locke adorns mass-produced busts of 19th-century royalty with medals and jewelry, representing the "burden of history" and the complicated legacies of colonialism.
* *4:07** The Brookes Slaver Ship Painting:* Locke contrasts a seemingly charming naval portrait of The Brookes with trade beads, emphasizing the hidden realities of the slave trade. He discusses the importance of acknowledging the pro-slavery sentiment that existed alongside abolitionist movements.
* *6:16** The Watchers:* Locke explains his use of figures called "The Watchers," positioned to observe viewers and prompt reflection on their role in this history.
* *8:50** Asante Gold Soul Washer Disc and Cannon:* Locke discusses two looted items: a medieval English jug venerated by the Asante and later seized by the British, and a large cannon, highlighting the diverse forms loot can take.
* *10:50** Maria Sibylla Merian's Drawings and Stedman's Narrative:* Locke pairs Merian’s seemingly idyllic Surinam nature drawings with Stedman's depiction of plantation violence, exposing the underlying tension of colonial life. He avoids stereotypical depictions of brutality, opting for a more nuanced approach.
* *17:17** Soul Washer Disc and Indemnity:* The Soul Washer Disc, seized from the Asante king as part of a war indemnity, serves as a trophy of colonial conquest.
* *18:05** Exhibition's Aim:* Locke aims to create a beautiful yet problematic exhibition that fosters dialogue and leaves viewers with more questions than answers about the complexities of colonial history.
I used gemini-1.5-pro on rocketrecap dot com to summarize the transcript.
Cost (if I didn't use the free tier): $0.04
Input tokens: 26766
Output tokens: 454
Ahh the old "hew lock" expression..... of course that came from "oh look" as in oi whats at mate? It was a carribean expression originating from the old cockney and a splash of hot potato..... the usage started when they heard queen victoria say 'hew lock' when really she was saying oh look!
I would have missed that, thanks 😊
Thank you!
This is an important and amazing exhibition, but I can’t shake the fact that it is paying lip service to what the British Museum (and the British as a state) is actually doing as a colonial institution, still perpetuating colonial acts.
British colonials was the worlds greatest gift on the whole.
I'm Indian. you will love me . I'm alone in life.
Give. Back. The. Elgin. Marbles
No
looking at Benin Bronzes giving away by the head of state of that country to some croney, robbing his people from their heritage: no, don't do it!
Even if I think it's probably the right thing to do... things are complicated.
Skill issue
Why? The marbles were sold to Elgin because the authorities were fed up with the Greeks stealing stones to grind up for mortar. If Elgin hadn't bought them, they probably wouldn't exist.
The Benin bronze are a different story, they were stolen.
Curators' Tour of Hew Locke: What have we here? exhibition at the British Museum 1638pm 2.1.25 i dont mind the odd juxtaposition. as for colonialism: it is not a specific time or place. overlordship of anther is not part and parcel of western suppression of all others. as much as the nowadays narrative is trying to suggest.
Good video! Hope that the museum of british piratary history finds its end in our life time
Woke AF
What business is it of the museum to hire folk in to re write our history. Brits would generally be quite proud of empire and accept that the slave trade was a normal part of operations in the past.
Which parts do you find to be factually lacking.
If that was a question for me ... ? I would not be querying facts since the gentleman here was giving his own thoughts and as he was a guest of the museum using his own talents to create an interpretation He was a guest there.
My bitch is other. Interpretation is so easily political. I don't think the Museum should be doing politics of any kind and certainly not social engineering of the recently fashionable progressive liberal sort. Outside their remit might be a way to put it.
@@causewaykayak The way a museum chooses to present artefacts will always betray a position or opinion. Even something as simple as choosing which objects to display, and which to not. If anything, I see it as a strength of Britain that we have a mature and nuanced understanding of our own history and aren't afraid to show and challenge its darker parts. Many countries in the world would do no such thing.
Thank you Julius. Nicely written. The notion that our UK nations have a dark past is already something that I would take issue with. That sounds like the revisionists beloved by BBC, Chanel 4 and the Guardian. A lot of us might quite like the idea that our forefathers in our small impoverished islands could get out there with aggressive trading and muster a military to support it. Rightly or Wrongly we worked together with the native African supply chain to ship populations halfway round the planet to create great wealth, civil and military employment for our people. We never need feel ashamed about that. Too bad the spoiled salon class took upon themselves to break this up.
@causewaykayak Right well, I vehemently disagree. We have a history comprising people like Shakespeare and Darwin yet you glorify conquerors and slave traders. Frankly you should reconsider some things if you find that admirable.
If i hold my hands weird. Will they call me an artist 😂
Please stop bringing your secular, deeply political religion into your videos.
Ok boomer
I think, while interesting, we have more in common with African nations now as our populations want, increasingly, hand outs from the government, which over taxes our private enterprises & therefore economic growth, just like an African Nation......
Yeah, those billionaires who take tax credits and handouts, have nothing to Do with Anything! Huh?
@cat_terrell I was trying to point out that lack of innovation and private sector growth is a function of lefty policies and people wanting handouts / their cut etc. like those of Africa (only difference being a lack of ability to tax the plebs). I think you will find the very rich leave the UK as they may well do in Africa too (certainly in Somalia), to stay on topic.... Our nation has more in common than we realize.
@22terrytibbs That's the 2-sided, Trick against all the people. The Uber wealthy don't care about political leaders or parties. Oh, they Say they Do. But, They Don't. There's plenty of innovation. It gets squashed by banking & corporate 2 party systems everywhere. Divide and conquer is their motto. It's as old as civilization in all parts of the world for resources. All civilizations are destined to collapse. History rhymes or repeats. If only we could Learn from it, instead.✌🏽
@@22terrytibbs14 years of terrible financial mismanagement by a conservative government who only gave handouts to their rich friends, but sure, 6 months of labour government is to blame for all our problems 🤓