Murals of La Jolla

Isaac Julien's mural, ECLIPSE (Playtime), is now displayed at 7569, Girard Avenue, La Jolla; as part of La Murals of Jolla's initiative to commision arts to add to the civic character of the community on private properties.

ECLIPSE (Playtime) is a still from his 2013 film 'Playtime' in which Julien explores and critiques how the flow of financial capital controls the contemporary art world. Shown as a multi-screen installation, Playtime features a cast of international film stars including James Franco, Maggie Cheung, Colin Salmon, and auctioneer Simon de Pury. This particular still from the film captures the character Artist, played by Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, ruminating on his despair over his financial ruin and its devastating consequences including the loss of his wife and home. In a sparse, modernist environment, he peers out a circular, yellow-tinged window mulling over his appall at how the real estate market’s risky investments can wreak havoc on people’s lives. For Julien, the image of the artist in front of the bright yellow window is a subtle reference to the myth of Icarus and how he flew dangerously close to the sun. Part documentary and part fiction, the film unfolds as six contrasting vignettes that focus on the connections between London, Reykjavik, and Dubai and how the flow of capital and labor affects the production, dealing, and collecting of contemporary art. Playtime has been exhibited nationally and internationally including Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2019); Fort Mason, San Francisco (2017); Platform-L Contemporary Arts Center, Seoul (2017); and Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City (2016).