ISAAC JULIEN: WHAT FREEDOM IS TO ME

Tate Britain is showcasing a moving retrospective exhibition chronicling the career of acclaimed British filmmaker and installation artist, Sir Isaac Julien. Born in East London in 1960, Julien has spent the past 40 years investigating themes related to racism, homophobia, colonial legacies and desire through captivating documentary films that straddle fiction and reality.

As the largest retrospective on the artist to date, What Freedom is to Me, was chosen as the title of the show as an homage to Nina Simone, who once used the phrase in a 1968 interview. The exhibition will feature a number of his most celebrated works, including five single-screen films, along with six floating installations, such as his seminal early films, Looking For Langston (1989) and Vagabondia (2000), as well as newer explorations in Once Again… (Statues Never Die) (2022) and Lessons Of The Hour (2019) — the latter of which was recently chronicled by DelMonico Books.

FEATURED ARTISTS
Sir Isaac Julien