Monday, November 07, 2005

Runa Islam and Isaac Julien: video installations

Two video installations currently showing in London are coming to the end of their run this week and are well worth a visit. Runa Islam's How Far To Fårö at the Camden Arts Centre is a poetic and technically accomplished piece on the nature of narrative. Borrowing heavily from Ingmar Bergman (who lived on the island of Fårö mentioned in the title), Islam makes full use of the possibilities of triple screening to compose an open-ended piece that is better than most films you'll see on the big-screen.

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How Far To Fårö


Over at the Victoria Miro gallery Isaac Julien is showing Fantôme Afrique and True North, which continue the artist's trademark preoccupation with African diaspora and dislocation. Julien is not as apt as Islam is at maximising the potentiality of the installation medium and these pieces could just as well be single-screen works. But they do convey great lyricism that not even his penchant for too much gloss manages to compromise.


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Fantôme Afrique

Runa Islam's How Far To Fårö is on until 13/11.
Isaac Julien's Fantôme Afrique and True North is on until 12/11.
Both can be seen free of charge

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