Transforming mundane objects into sculptures
For his second solo show at Copperfield, Ty Locke gives a first impression reminiscent of an auction presentation at a bankrupt stately home.
Locke’s first job was as a party host at a children’s play centre ‘The Big Fun House’ and there he honed his ability to play the clown. In returning to that time, he has found a material for his suits of armour that offers about as much real protection as his self-deprecating role really offered in emotional escape. The disposable tin platters that served up crisps and cupcakes, are here transformed as if in a child’s dreams to convincing gauntlets and vambraces projecting from the walls. Hand embossed into these tin surfaces are copies of the tattoo’s that are inked into the skins of Locke’s actual family, acknowledging that tattoos have long been to working class people what heraldry was to the privileged: a mark of belonging and of protection by association and intimidation.
Across from this wall of armour that reads like a gang of flexing biceps, glistening shoulder to shoulder is a counter to all that hyper masculinity. A neatly folded “dad’s suit” is left out as something to grow into, a roll to fill, but this one seems to grow at the seams. While family and circumstance are a big part of growing up, finding our own identities and sexuality is pivotal and here drag show eye lashes adorn the seams of an otherwise restrained garment. Hung above it is Serving Camp, a last pair of limp-wristed and intricately jointed gauntlets with fake nails moulded into the end of each finger. The limpness of the wrist is met with the aggression and sharpness of these nails that become claws.
The artist’s work blends accessibility, wit and sexuality to respond to his position in the world. He is interested in transforming mundane objects into sculptures imbued with personality and tension, often through labour-intensive means.
Locke’s recent work deals with his upbringing in Kent, growing up queer as one of 7 siblings in a lower working-class family. Using cheap domestic items such as plastic stools, cigarette papers, or kitchen knives drawn from his childhood, Locke reinvents their purpose and function to engage in broader social commentaries around class and sexuality. The strenuous and meticulous process of working with such materials becomes therapeutic, meditative, and a way of making sense of the world. In these deeply personal sculptures, the initially humorous presentation gives way to the emotional depth of the topics explored, revealing jarring juxtapositions.
Copperfield, 6 Copperfield Street, London SE1 0EP. 12th March until 16th May 2026
Wed – Sat, 12 – 6pm
