In a globalized world there are no longer discussions relating to place, time and culture. What art works relate to in one way or another pertain to the human condition. One of the most dominant realities of out time is that of isolation. This work is by the multi media London based artist Isaac Julien This photograph is about a housekeeper in Dubai who is trapped in an immaculate apartment in the middle of the desert. It is based on the true story of Julien’s real-life housekeeper, a Filipino woman who went to Dubai in search of work, became suffocated by her isolation, and escaped to London where she found a job with the artist.
Alicja Kwade uses mixed-media in her works to manipulate mental perceptions and physical experiences of how the body inhabits space and time. In her sculpture for Art Basel a lone figure encased in a block with empty blocks all around it. I read this as a piece also exploring the idea of isolation and entrapment.
The idea of isolation can also be that of the artist himself who may persist in pursuing a vision despite public rejection. I read Marilyn Minter’s piece “Stranded” at Art Basel as relating to her own journey. For decades her work was branded as pornographic and she was rejected for overtly sexual imagery. Although she turned to fashion and glamour and fused this into her paintings – her work remains charged with sexuality. She writes “But now I am communicating, and people are hearing me. I’m in a really unique position. I’m getting all this success, but I’m notgoing to go crazy, because I don’t really care. What does it really change? Ifeel really lucky. I lived through it. But I know the way the world works—I’ve got a couple of years and then I’ll get criticized again.
The fact is that although many artists deny it, the idea of isolation exists in one way or another.
artstolife 