Theater/Dance
Journeys of the Black Body
By Astride Charles--SeeingBlack.com Contributing Critic
Nov 20, 2007, 08:29

Isaac Julien is one of several Black visual artists who cautiously utilizes realism. His films are less informative in the more conventional sense but, in turn, have a more meditative quality. His films tap into whatever knowledge the viewer has and attempts to challenge, stimulate or advance the pre-existing knowledge.

His elusive pattern of filmmaking is wide-ranging, from his 1988 film on Langston Hughes titled "Looking for Langston," to his 1996 film on psychologist and well-respected post-colonial theorist, Franz Fanon. Whether a documentary or audio-visual installation, his films have been characterized by the highly stylized manner in which he films his subjects. This creative approach in one reason, I think, that, Russell Maliphant and Issac Julien joined their in-common creative energies in Cast No Shadow.

As a veteran now secured in his artistic presentation, Julien seeks to ask questions without imposing any strict moral lesson. Cast No Shadow is comprised of a trilogy of visual installations that reflect on journeys. The first of these, “True North” (2004), looks at Matthew Henson, co-discoverer of the North Pole, and how Henson’s Blackness erases the pioneering aspect of his journey. The video does not objectively describe Henson, rather, such information is found in the supplemental guides to the video installations. "Fantôme Afrique" (2005) shows Julien travelling to Burkina Faso to capture image-production in Africa. The resulting piece includes an awareness of the legacy of the ethnographic history of the landscape. The last piece, "Small Boats" (2007), focuses on desperate migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa who travel to the Mediterranean and further north for better prospects. (Earlier in November, Metro Pictures showcased the lengthier version of this Small Boats projected titled "Western Union: Small Boats" at a gallery space. In this small space, the movie was able to stand on its own as a fuller narrative. The other movies in his trilogy are also shown in galleries.)

In a panel discussion at BAM called “Epic Journeys,” both Julien and Maliphant agreed that a collaboration between artists involves constant negotiation of initial visions and artistic strengths. Similarly, for the viewer, experiencing “Cast No Shadow” can trigger a negotiation of senses and meditation on what art form resonates the most. At the same panel discussion, the artists questioned whether this dance performance, along with a highly stylized visual documentation of bodies, could be “a body too many.” Regardless of this anxiety, the show goes on.

Isaac Julien's visual inquiries on travel recognize the complications for those who move around daringly but go unseen. Waters, travelling and unaccounted bodies have become common motifs in the African and African Diaspora communities. Julien also comments on how discourse on journeys and travelling tend to be made masculine, because of the notion that women have more obligations, things or people cementing them into place.

Julien casts actress Vanessa Myrie in the three film installations, in which she serves as an almost ghostly presence. In “True North,” her voice verbalizes Matthew Henson’s thoughts; thus, she is not only a witness but also a teller. In “Cast No Shadow,” Myrie also appears on stage with the dancers, trespassing, again, into a different space.

At first glance, Julien’s images are captivating through his impressive depiction of landscape and people. Julien not only appreciates the capabilities of bodies—thus he is never too abstract—he also realizes how these bodies may come loaded with a fixed meaning for each viewer.

This artistic fascination with travel is worth seeing. As Julien states, the body can be a vessel, a craft for travelling and can, simultaneously, erase one’s movement. Inevitably, Julien’s works communicate a vernacular cosmopolitanism, a visual language to explain agency, as well as the horrors, that can come with travel. His particular fixation on a feminine witness, although still a developing concept, appears promising and enlightening. At the same time, Cast No Shadow is a liberating experience that does not minimize the possible constraints of embarking on a journey. His work, for these reasons, is refreshing.


Astride Charles lives and works in New York City. For more on Issac Julien, visit www.isaacjulien.com.

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