<Isaac Julien review – Gwendoline Christie meets a cyborg starfish in a pleasure-seeker’s postmodern parlour — Art News
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rate_review review calendar_today Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Isaac Julien review – Gwendoline Christie meets a cyborg starfish in a pleasure-seeker’s postmodern parlour

A new film by artist Isaac Julien, featuring actors Sheila Atim and Gwendoline Christie as science-fiction deities, is on view at the Cosmic House in London. The 25-minute work, which incorporates themes from Octavia E. Butler's novel *Parable of the Sower*, explores concepts of change, interconnectedness, and fluid identity through a visually rich, postmodern lens.

The installation's context within Charles Jencks and Maggie Keswick's postmodern home enhances its reception, shifting it from an 'aggressively bombastic' gallery presentation to a more congenial domestic setting. Julien's move from films centered on queer Black desire to a work questioning fixed identity itself marks a significant evolution, suggesting a revolutionary, eco-conscious perspective on our relationship with the world.