A major public artwork in which acclaimed Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke reimagines Birmingham’s city-centre sculpture of Queen Victoria. The project has been commissioned by Ikon Gallery for the Birmingham 2022 Festival (the cultural programme of the Commonwealth Games). Titled Foreign Exchange, the spectacular work will be Locke’s first temporary public sculpture and a natural progression of many years of exploration into the symbolic power of public monuments.

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Titled Foreign Exchange, the spectacular work will be Locke’s first temporary public sculpture and a natural progression of many years of exploration into the symbolic power of public monuments. Crafting an intricate ‘‘object of veneration, leading a battalion of other statues to represent the home nation throughout the Empire”, the project brings a diverse social and historic focus to an often-overlooked Birmingham heritage asset.

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Size: 6368px × 4245px
Location: Victoria Sqaure, Birmingham, England, UK
Photo credit: © David Warren / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -imagined, 2022, artist, birmingham, commonwealth, exchange, foreign, games, guyanese-british, heritage, hew, locke, queen, statue, statues, unusual, victoria