ISAAC JULIEN:
LESSONS OF THE HOUR ISAAC JULIEN: 

29 July - 10 October 2021 

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One). 

#IsaacJulien 

Isaac Julien (b. 1960) J.P. Ball Salon,1867 (Lessons of the Hour), 2019. Framed photograph on glossy inkjet paper,

mounted on aluminium 57x76cm; 221/2x297/8in Courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro, London/Venice. 

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One), in collaboration with the Edinburgh Art Festival, presents the UK and European premiere of a major new ten-screen film installation by celebrated British artist Isaac Julien, CBE, RA. 

Julien's Lessons of the Hour is a poetic meditation in the form of a film installation and photographic exhibition on the life of Frederick Douglass, the visionary African American writer, abolitionist and freed slave who spent two years in Edinburgh in the 1840s fighting for freedom and social justice, as well as women's rights, throughout Scotland, England and Ireland. 

The installation draws on some of his most important speeches, such as "Lessons of the Hour", "What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?" and "Lecture on Pictures". In the film, the figure of Douglass interacts with other cultural icons of his time.

Shot on location in Edinburgh and elsewhere in Scotland, London and at Douglass' home in Washington DC, Julien's film portrait draws on some of the abolitionist's most important speeches, interweaving historical scenes with recent footage to underscore the continuing relevance and urgency of Douglass' words today.

ISAAC JULIEN:
LESSONS OF THE HOUR ISAAC JULIEN: 

29 July - 10 October 2021 

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One). 

75 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DR 

www.nationalgalleries.org 

#IsaacJulien