Artnet features Isaac Julien’s All That Changes You. Metamorphosis

 'Central to Julien’s story are issues of climate crisis and social inequality that have been on his mind since fires devastated Los Angeles at the start of this year. Rather than indulge a straightforwardly apocalyptic narrative, however, the director uses science fiction to imagine a more hopeful, post-anthropocentric future that considers the stake of non-human sentient lifeforms.'

'The Renaissance, a cultural and intellectual “rebirth,” and the Enlightenment, which privileged reason and scientific thought over traditional authorities like monarchies or religious institutions, were both periods of upheaval that brought about significant societal change. Julien has suggested that we too may have arrived “at a particular post-Enlightenment time, with crises and wars, where ideas of universalism are being challenged.” Old systems that once offered reassurance now feel at risk, suggesting that we may need to prepare for a similar break with the past.'

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Image: Isaac Julien, All That Changes You. Metamorphosis, 2025
Production stills
© Isaac Julien
Courtesy the artist, Victoria Miro and Jessica Silverman

 

 

October 3 2025