Isaac Julien. Maiden of Silence (Ten Thousand Waves). 2010. Endura Ultra photograph I, 180 x 240 cm. Courtesy of the artist, Metro Pictures, New York and Victoria Miro Gallery, London

Isaac Julien. Maiden of Silence (Ten Thousand Waves). 2010. Endura Ultra photograph I, 180 x 240 cm. Courtesy of the artist, Metro Pictures, New York and Victoria Miro Gallery, London

 

Currently on view at MoMA, New York is “Ten Thousand Waves” (2010), an immersive film installation by Isaac Julien, that projects onto nine double-sided screens arranged in a dynamic structure. Conceived for The Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium, the installation choreographs visitors’ movement through the space. The original inspiration for this recently acquired, 55-minute moving image installation was the Morecambe Bay tragedy of 2004, in which more than 20 Chinese cockle pickers drowned on a flooded sandbank off the coast in northwest England.

 

Julien poetically interweaves contemporary Chinese culture with its ancient myths—including the fable of the goddess Mazu (portrayed in the piece by Maggie Cheung), which comes from the Fujian Province, from where the Morecambe Bay workers originated. In one section, the “Tale of Yishan Island”, Julien recounts the story of 16th-century fishermen lost and imperiled at sea. Central to the legend is the sea goddess figure who leads the fishermen to safety.

 

“Ten Thousand Waves” is on view through February 17th, 2014.

 

For more information visit MoMA, New York.