The Procession,  Photos this page by Anna Arca

The Procession was the 2022 Tate Britain Duveen Hall Commission. Consisiting of about 150 figures, the peice was installled from March 2022 until January 2023.

We have all taken part in a procession of one type or another. People gather and move together to celebrate, worship, protest, mourn, trade, escape or to better themselves. Locke invites visitors to ‘reflect on the cycles of history, and the ebb and flow of cultures, people and finance and power.’ Tate Britain’s founder was art lover and sugar refining magnate Henry Tate. In the installation Locke says he ‘makes links with the historical after-effects of the sugar business, almost drawing out of the walls of the building.’ It is also a look back over his own life, revisiting his artistic journey so far, including past work with statues, disappearing colonial architecture, empire, share certificates, royalty, cardboard, rising sea levels, carnival and the military. Figures move to the future, but still their carry historical and cultural baggage, and we can walk alongside them.

The Procession was described by the press as "a thrilling spectacle with a sinister message", "a poetic work", "a bravura picture ... in a building built on sugar", "subtle, complex ways", "a celebration of narrative in form", "Unsettling Pageant", "the show Prince William and Kate should have seen before Jamaica", "it's about owning history. powerfully and beautifully","A roaring carnival of humanity".

Link to 10 short videos commissioned by The Paul Mellon Centre of The Procession.