Artist Statement
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These photographic works—from my installations Western Union: small boats (2007), Ten Thousand Waves (2010), and PLAYTIME (2014)—take us from the desert outside Dubai, to the suburbs of Reyjkavik, the Yangtzee River, and Lampedusa in Sicily. They each show displaced people: those pushed or pulled around the globe by the flow of global capital. Made over eight years, they also show my gradual embracing of digital technologies for making images. A few weeks after the first shoot for PLAYTIME, I received the rushes; everything was on a hard drive. Image making is now as de-materialized as modern capital; even as it tries to depict capital, it shares its form. [End Page 933]
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Isaac Julien, Young Soul Rebels (1991) 35 mm film, color, Dolby stereo sound (105 min.)
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Isaac Julien, Territories (1984) 16 mm film, color, sound (24 min. 6 sec.)
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Isaac Julien, The Abyss (Playtime) (2013) Endura Ultra photograph (62.99” x 94.49”)
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Isaac Julien, Playtime (2013) Double projection, edge blended, single screen ultra high definition with 5.1 surround sound (70 min. 12 sec.)
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Isaac Julien, Eclipse (Playtime) (2013) Endura Ultra photograph (70.87” x 106.3”)
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Isaac Julien, Western Union Series No. 1 (Cast No Shadow) (2007) Duratrans image in lightbox (47.24” x 47.24”)
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Isaac Julien, All That’s Solid Melts Into Air (Playtime) (2013) Endura Ultra photograph (70.87” x 106.3”)
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Isaac Julien, Yishan Island, Voyage (Ten Thousand Waves) (2011) Endura Ultra photograph (47 ¼” x 63”)
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ISAAC JULIEN is a filmmaker and an installation artist. Born in 1960 in London, England, he has rapidly developed as an artist. He studied painting and fine art filmmaking at Central St. Martin’s School of Art and Design, from which he received a BA (First Class Honors) in 1984. From 1987-1989, he studied at Les Entrepreneurs de L’Audiovisual European, Brussells (Post-Doctoral). His 1989 documentary drama Looking for Langston established him nationally and internationally as a significant filmmaker, and in 2001 he was shortlisted for the Turner Prize. His audio-visual installations include Baltimore (2003) and Western Union (2007). PLAYTIME, his latest installation, premiered in January 2014 at Victoria Miro Gallery, London. He has steadily received numerous prizes, awards, and other honors for his work: Semaine de la Critique Prize for Young Soul Rebels, Cannes Film Festival, France (1991); Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship Award, New York University, Centre for Media, Culture and History, USA (1995); Wexner Museum Fine Arts International Artist Award, Columbus, Ohio, USA (1996); Pratt and Whitney Canada Grand Prize for Frantz Fanon: Black Skin White Mask, 15th International Festival of Films on Art (1997); Jerome Foundation Award, USA (1998); Andy Warhol Foundation Award, USA (1998); Jerome Foundation Award, USA (2002); the Frameline Lifetime Achievement Award, San Francisco, USA(2002); Grand Jury Award, KunstFilmBiennale, Cologne, Germany (2003); Best Documentary for Derek, Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Milan, Italy (2008); Off Festival Award from PHotoEspaña for Ten Thousand Waves at Galería Helga...
