19 march 2024, Flor Linckens
Isaac Julien: “I like the idea of exploring things poetically"
The work of Sir Isaac Julien is so breathtakingly beautiful that some viewers may need a gentle nudge to explore its deeper layers. The video installations of the British artist delve into complex themes such as gender, race, diaspora, representation, sexuality, decolonisation, class, and the ways in which we (collectively) remember events. Often, these works relate as much to the present as they do to the past. During the opening of his solo exhibition at the Bonnefanten in Maastricht, the artist stated with a smile, "I like the idea of exploring things poetically, I’m not a newscaster." Parallel to this retrospective, Galerie Ron Mandos is presenting a solo exhibition of the artist, which will be on view until 14 April 2024. For this purpose, the gallery made significant alterations to its architecture, even removing a wall to accommodate a monumental installation. Alongside this video installation, an immersive two-screen experience, Galerie Ron Mandos also features various large-scale photographic works that originate from the same universe — each more beautiful than the last.
In his video work, Julien introduces various narratives across multiple screens that weave a larger story: a dialogue, archival material, an affair with a kindred spirit, a singer, a flashback to an earlier work and a storyline about a contemporary curator.
Barnes and Locke found some inspiration in each other and shared a common goal to some extent, but their differing backgrounds, personalities, mindsets and privilege complicated the conversation. In collaboration with Martina Klich, Julien staged a fragmented dialogue, based on historical correspondence between these two men, a diary and two articles they published a hundred years ago in the African American literary magazine 'Opportunity'. This conversation was filmed at the Barnes Foundation and, like the original source material, it's polite and cordial, yet there's also a hint of tension beneath the surface. Years later, their relationship would culminate in a lawsuit, which was won by Locke.
As a Black man, Locke had his own perspective on the formation of the collection and the meaning of African art within the diaspora and the Western art world. The relationship between African art and white collectors and institutions is, to put it mildly, fraught. African art is often categorised as an artifact, whereas Western works are more readily considered art. This is notable, especially considering that artists like Picasso and Modigliani borrowed heavily from the visual language of African art. Moreover, fetishisation, objectification and decontextualisation play a role. Not to mention the means by which these African artworks were acquired, an aspect Barnes and Locke seemed to pay less attention to. Take, for example, the famous Benin Bronzes, which were looted by British troops in 1897 as they violently ended the centuries-old Kingdom of Benin in Africa. One of these bronze works is part of the Barnes Foundation's collection.
In "Once Again…", Julien also incorporates footage from the French film ‘Statues Also Die’ ('Les Statues Meurent Aussi') (1953) by Chris Marker, Alain Resnais and Ghislain Cloquet. This groundbreaking film offered a critical perspective on French colonialism and its impact on African art. The filmmakers underscored the resulting Western views on African cultures — which are, of course, quite distinct and far from a monolith. The French film, initially banned, poetically discusses the ‘acquisition’ of these works (including the Benin Bronzes) and how they are displayed in European museums. The French filmmakers notably emphasise that the works lose their original cultural significance and spiritual essence when they are removed from their original context. Julien inverses the title of the French film, ‘Statues Also Die’, to the title of his own work: "Once Again… (Statues Never Die)".
Julien also enriched "Once Again…" with elements from his famed film "Looking for Langston" (1989), about the poet, writer and activist Langston Hughes, who, like Locke, was an integral part of the Harlem Renaissance. For instance, several quotes from this work are combined with new scenes of Barthé, and we also see a notable staircase that appeared in "Looking for Langston". The footage is emotionally charged by intersecting scenes of jazz singer Alice Smith, who delivers a deeply moving performance.
In "Once Again...", we also see an African curator moving through a museum: the archaeological and anthropological Pitt Rivers Museum, part of the University of Oxford. It's the same university Locke attended decades earlier as the first African American Rhodes Scholar. The contemporary and fictional curator (played by Sharlene Whyte) presents a different perspective: a non-Western one. As she walks past looted heritage, she reads, among other things, a text by Aimé Césaire, a renowned Martinican poet, activist and politician. His ‘Discourse on Colonialism’ (1950) was one of the key texts in the anti-colonial discourse. Later, she reads an excerpt from the diary of a British soldier who was part of the destruction of Benin. Simultaneously, we see Locke passing through the same corridors, in a different time, haunted by the heart-wrenching music of Smith.
One of the most aesthetically captivating scenes takes place in the garden of the Barnes Foundation, where Locke and a (different) muse appear simultaneously on different screens. It is night, and both men have their eyes closed as they are slowly covered with snow. In the voice-over, Locke recites from 'Winter', a text by the iconic feminist Black writer bell hooks (1952-2021), specifically written for Julien's book 'Riot' from 2013. After hooks' passing in 2021, Julien revisited the text and dedicated "Once Again…" to her. The scene, also captured in two stunning photographic works, refers to a term introduced by hooks: a 'Diasporic Dream-Space'. The observant viewer will notice that the falling snow changes direction at one point, a kind of magic that seems to defy gravity. In 'Winter', hooks wrote: “Our capacity to experience the beautiful is a necessary act of political resistance.”
