The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA Australia) presents Isaac Julien’s captivating cinematic installation Once Again… (Statues Never Die) (2022) from September 27, 2024 to February 16, 2025 in the Macgregor Gallery, Level 1.
Image above: Isaac Julien, Once Again… (Statues Never Die), 2022, installation view of Once Again… (Statues Never Die), Tate Britain, London 2023, image courtesy Isaac Julien and Roslyn Oxley 9 Gallery, Sydney, © the artist, photograph Henrik Kam.
Sir Isaac Julien, a pioneer of multi-screen installation, is one of the UK’s most influential and critically acclaimed artists. He seamlessly combines film, photography and installation to explore themes of ethnicity, gender and cultural identity.
Once Again… (Statues Never Die), Julien’s latest work, is a captivating and haunting five-screen black and white film installation that poetically explores the relationship and correspondence between art collector Albert C. Barnes (1872-1951) and famed philosopher, educator and cultural leader Alain Locke (1885-1954).
Barnes, an early collector of African material culture in the United States and founder of the Barnes Collection, and Locke, a key figure in the cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and ’30s and the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, stimulate discussions about African art and its place in global art history.
It stars actor André Holland (Moonlight and Passing) as Alain Locke, Danny Huston (Succession and Marlowe) as Dr. Barnes, rising star Devon Terrell as sculptor Richmond Barthé and Sharlene Whyte (Small Axe and Lessons of the Hour) as a curator, as well as singer and songwriter Alice Smith.
Based on Julien’s extensive research in the archives of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, which also commissioned the work, Once Again… (Statues Never Die) is a compelling exploration of black modernism, historical narratives, social constructs and cultural heritage. The film reflects on the significant and often neglected place of African objects in many Western art museum collections.
This project explores the historical relationship of Dr. Barnes and Alain Locke, their mutually formative critical dialogue, and its significant influence on their work as cultural critics, educators, organizers, and activists for various African American causes,” says Julien.
Rebecca Ray, curator of the MCA Australia, added: “Once Again… (Statues Never Die) is a timely commentary on the ongoing impact of museum histories and practices, as well as a plea for the return of cultural heritage.
Once Again… (Statues Never Die) explores Locke’s engagement with the Barnes collection, honoring both Locke’s contribution to art and a critical examination of African material culture that influenced the black cultural movement. The installation highlights Dr. Barnes’ later writings on the importance and value of African materials.
In this film, Julien revisits some of the themes he explored in his groundbreaking 1989 film Looking for Langston. He continues his exploration of the queer subculture of the Harlem Renaissance by looking at the relationship between Locke and sculptor Richmond Barthé with a staging of Barthé’s sculptures at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
The film is accompanied by archive footage of looted African artworks from the British Museum, taken from the film You Hide Me (1970) by Ghanaian filmmaker Nii Kwate Owoo, and is complemented by quotes from poets Aimé Césaire and Langston Hughes. The film offers a story that contextualizes today’s efforts to make amends.
A selection of African art objects from the 19th and early 20th centuries on loan from the Australian Museum will be shown alongside Julien’s film. Also on display are figurative sculptures by Richmond Barthé (1901-1989) and contemporary artist Matthew Angelo Harrison (b. 1989), who appear throughout the film. The inclusion of their work demonstrates how African American artists in the West continue to develop their own visual languages to reflect the complexities of black identity.
Curator: Rebecca Ray
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Friday, September 27, 2024 – Sunday, February 16, 2025
Opening hours: Wednesday – Monday, 10 am – 5 pm
WHERE?
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Macgregor Gallery, Level 1
Tallawoladah, Gadigal Country
140 George Street
The Rocks
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
COSTS?
Free admission
 will exhibit Isaac Julien's captivating cinematic installation Once ...){kind=link}