Three enigmatic wooden boats float midair inside the Entrance Court of the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA).
The vessels - "The Survivor," "Desire," and "The Relic" - look as if they've completed many hard voyages. Portholes are rusted. Sections of corrugated metal are missing from their roofs. Two of the boats feature patchwork sails like massive quilts. Cargo clutters their ghostly decks, which are devoid of people.
This installation - the sculptures are suspended at about eye-level from the court's ceiling with wires - is part of "Hew Locke: Passages," an exhibition on view at the YCBA through Jan. 11. The show spans the 30-year career of Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke, whose work critiques and upends the imagery and legacy of colonial and post-colonial power through eye-popping, intricate sculptures, installations, photography, and drawings.
