A groundbreaking and essential survey of the art of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, offering an in-depth discussion of the development of the artist and positioning her work within a wider history of portraiture. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Fly In League With The Night celebrates the work of one of the most significant and acclaimed figurative painters of her generation. Fact and fiction fuse in Yiadom-Boakye's paintings: they appear to be portraits, yet the people she depicts are not real but invented. Created from a composite of found images and her own imagination, her characters seem to exist outside of a specific time or place: they feel at once familiar yet mysterious. This ambiguity resonates again in the enigmatic titles she gives to her artworks. The artist is also a writer of poetry and prose, and for her, the two forms of creativity complement each other: 'The things I can't paint, I write, and the things I can't write, I paint.' This perceptive and engaging publication provides a comprehensive account of Yiadom-Boakye's practice over the past two decades. With contributions by the celebrated poet Elizabeth Alexander and curators Andrea Schlieker and Isabella Maidment, alongside new writing by Yiadom-Boakye, Fly In League With The Night reflects the dual aspects of the artist's career as both a painter and a writer and offers an intimate insight into her creative process.

Celebrated for his compelling lyrical films and video art installations, Isaac Julien is one of the leading artists working today. This landmark book reveals the scope of Julien’s pioneering practice of over forty years, from the early 1980s to the present day, showcasing works from early films to large-scale, multi-screen installations which investigate the movement of peoples across different continents, times and spaces. It includes some of his early projects as part of Sankofa Film and Video Collective (1983–92); his critically acclaimed ten-screen video installation Lessons of the Hour 2019, a portrait of the life and times of Frederick Douglass, the visionary African American orator, philosopher and self-liberated freedom-fighter; and Once Again … (Statues Never Die) 2022. The wide range of writers and collaborators who have contributed to this book highlight Julien's critical thinking and the way his work breaks down barriers between different artistic disciplines, drawing from film, dance, photography, music, theatre, painting and sculpture by using the themes of desire, history and culture. Featuring strikingly beautiful reproductions of these extraordinarily powerful works, this publication enriches our understanding and appreciation of a remarkable artist.

‘Dance, theatre, music, sculpture, painting, all of these different modes of art-making are encapsulated into my practice, which is why I chose film as a medium for making my work.’ Isaac Julien Celebrated for his compelling lyrical films and video art installations, Isaac Julien is one of the leading artists working today. This landmark book reveals the scope of Julien’s pioneering practice of over forty years, from the early 1980s to the present day, showcasing works from early films to large-scale, multi-screen installations which investigate the movement of peoples across different continents, times and spaces. It includes some of his early projects as part of Sankofa Film and Video Collective (1983–92); his critically acclaimed ten-screen film installation Lessons of the Hour 2019, a portrait of the life and times of Frederick Douglass, the visionary African American orator, philosopher and self-liberated freedom-fighter; and Once Again … (Statues Never Die) 2022. The wide range of writers and collaborators who have contributed to this book highlight Julien's critical thinking and the way his work breaks down barriers between different artistic disciplines, drawing from film, dance, photography, music, theatre, painting and sculpture by using the themes of desire, history and culture. Featuring strikingly beautiful reproductions of these extraordinarily powerful works, this publication enriches our understanding and appreciation of a remarkable artist.