Victoria Miro is delighted to participate in The Armory Show (Booth 229) with a solo presentation of Isaac Julien’s Once Again… (Statues Never Die). A two-screen installation of Julien’s highly acclaimed film is accompanied by associated photographic works including Diasporic Dream Space Diptych, on view in the US for the first time. The artist will take part in the keynote discussion of the seventh annual Curatorial Leadership Summit, chaired by Lauren Cornell, on Friday 6 September.
This presentation follows the recent inclusion of the five-screen installation of Once Again… (Statues Never Die) in the Whitney Biennial 2024 and celebrates two works by Julien – Lessons of the Hour and Looking for Langston – currently on view at MoMA, New York.
Once Again… (Statues Never Die) explores the relationship between Dr. Albert C. Barnes, who was an early US collector and exhibitor of African material culture, and the famed philosopher and cultural critic Alain Locke, known as the ‘Father of the Harlem Renaissance’. The work examines the significant and often neglected place of African objects in numerous collections of western art museums. Utilising poetic reparation and historical archives – drawing on Julien’s extensive research in the archives of the Barnes Foundation – the film explores the reciprocal impact of Locke’s political philosophy and cultural organising activities on Dr. Barnes’s pioneering art collecting and his democratic, inclusive educational enterprise.
Once Again… (Statues Never Die) 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 the curator. It also features a special appearance by singer and songwriter Alice Smith. Once Again… (Statues Never Die) was commissioned by and premiered at the Barnes Foundation in 2022.
Aspects of the film are expanded upon in Julien’s photographic works, which honour Locke’s contribution to the arts while also inviting critical conversations around the African material culture that influenced the Black cultural movement.
‘This project explores Dr. Barnes and Alain Locke’s storied relationship, its mutually formative critical dialogue, and its significant impact on their work as cultural critics, educators, organisers, and activists on behalf of various African American causes.’ – Isaac Julien.
Additionally, the gallery will have works available to view by Yayoi Kusama, including new paintings which have never been seen before.
