Ten Thousand Waves

Premiering at the Sydney Biennale in 2010, Isaac Julien's Ten Thousand Waves hangs as a series of nine screens in one of the ICA Boston's galleries, the sum of which simultaneously present three separate narratives, connected by the movement of people and the journeys that link them. Part history lesson, part ghost tale, part meditation on the often simultaneous transitions from the ancient to the modern, Julien weaves historic cinema precedents with tragic histories of migrant Chinese workers in present day England. Rush hour, forests, waves, mountains and documentary footage and sounds all collage together to form what could be considered the most accomplished work of Julien's already accomplished career.

Julien's four-year research led to a plethora of collaborations with many of China's leading artists. The film features performances by Maggie Cheung, calligraphy by Gong Fagen, lush cinematography by Zhao Xiaoshi, and most importantly a narrative from poet Wang Ping, whose poem Small Boats was commissioned by Julien to form a previous installation and is recited in this piece. The film is made even more powerful through the soundtrack by pioneer English musician/producer Jah Wobble, whose histories in dub, and working with the Chinese Dub Orchestra provide another transient, cultural reference point.

There is a beautiful allegiance between these works and Julien's other more "traditional" films, where the exploration of how narratives unfold, what is truth and what is simulated blur against and between the images that are projected for interpretation. Works such as his recent documentary on the British artist Derek Jarman, his "biography" of Frantz Fanon, or even his first acclaimed feature Young Soul Rebels all have an element of suspension in them, of time, place or reality. In Ten Thousand Waves these preoccupations are harnessed to great effect.

The almost hour-long piece certainly tests the limits of what is digestible in a gallery setting. The gallery is darkened to allow the presence of the image to become an architectural arrangement of spaces, narratives and time periods. The multiple screens allow for simultaneous action to the filmed from many perspectives, and often it is hard to know where to look, where to stand, how to stitch together the various and competing images. Julien has referred to this work as being post-cinema, and in a way it has certain allegorical connections to how fragmented the digestion of media has become in recent years. In this case, however, the fragments force concentration, interest and intrigue, leaving you wanting to know, and see, more. Chris Grimley

Ten Thousand Waves
ICA – Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Avenue, Boston
Through 4 March 2012