ISAAC JULIEN (b. 1960, London, United Kingdom) lives and works in London.
Isaac Julien is one of Britain’s most innovative and provocative filmmakers. Engaging and challenging, his work attempts to break down the barriers that exist between different artistic disciplines, drawing from and commenting on film, dance, photography, music, theater, painting and sculpture, and uniting these in a visually powerful and tightly knit narrative. Thematically, much of his work directly relates to issues of black and gay identity, as well as class, sexuality, and artistic and cultural history.
Julien was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2001 for his films The Long Road to Mazatlán (1999), made in collaboration with Javier de Frutos, and Vagabondia (2000), choreographed by Javier de Frutos. Earlier works include Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask (1996); Young Soul Rebels (1991), which was awarded the Semaine de la critique prize at the Cannes Film Festival the same year; and the acclaimed poetic documentary Looking for Langston (1989).
Most recently, he has had solo shows at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2005); the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL (2005); and the Kerstner Gesellschaft, Hanover, Germany (2006). His work is in the collections of the Tate Modern, London; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
Julien is represented by Metro Pictures in New York.