Runa Islam

{{Short description|Bangladeshi-born British visual artist and filmmaker (born 1970)}}

{{Infobox artist

| name = Runa Islam

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|12|10|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dhaka, East Bengal

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| nationality = British

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| training = Royal College of Art

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Runa Islam ({{langx|bn|রুনা ইসলাম}}; born 10 December 1970) is a Bangladeshi-born British visual artist and filmmaker based in London. She was a nominee for the 2008 Turner Prize. She is principally known for her film works.{{cite book |last=Fortnum |first=Rebecca |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporarybrit0000fort |title=Contemporary British Women Artists: In Their Own Words |publisher=I.B. Tauris |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-84511-224-0 |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/contemporarybrit0000fort/page/n141 132] |language=en |oclc=693780688 |author-link=Rebecca Fortnum |url-access=limited}}

Early life

Islam was born in Dhaka, Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and moved to London aged three.{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Serena |date=10 December 2005 |title=A cable car named desire |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3648626/A-cable-car-named-desire.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=13 July 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209051253/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3648626/A-cable-car-named-desire.html |archive-date=9 December 2012 |quote=Islam was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, moving to London, now her base, when she was three.}} She attended the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, from 1997 to 1998.

In 1999, Islam exhibited at EASTinternational which was selected by Peter Doig and Roy Arden. She completed a M.Phil at the Royal College of Art, London, in 2004.

Career

Islam has been inspired by European auteurs such as Jean-Luc Godard.{{cite news |last=Herbert |first=Martin |date=January 2006 |title=Cinematic affects: the art of Runa Islam |work=Artforum |publisher= |url=https://www.artforum.com/features/cinematic-affects-the-art-of-runa-islam-173160/ |url-status=live |url-access=limited |accessdate=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030084919/https://www.artforum.com/features/cinematic-affects-the-art-of-runa-islam-173160/ |archive-date=30 October 2023}}

In 2005, she participated in the Venice Biennale.{{Cite news |last=Spanier |first=Samson |date=July 2005 |title=Venice Biennale news: several countries are exhibiting at the Biennale for the first time this year, says Samson Spanier. But the important things—champagne and politics—have not changed |work=Apollo |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PAL/is_521_162/ai_n14919527 |url-status=dead |access-date=13 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119141842/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PAL/is_521_162/ai_n14919527 |archive-date=19 November 2007 |quote=...but there are some strong works, such as London-based Bangladeshi Runa Islam's film... |via=FindArticles}} Islam's 2006 16mm film installation Conditional Probability was the result of a residency at North Westminster Community School, in the final year before its closure.{{cite web |date=October 2006 |title=Runa Islam - Conditional Probability |url=http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2006/10/runa_islam_conditional_probabi.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511210143/http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2006/10/runa_islam_conditional_probabi.html |archive-date=11 May 2013 |accessdate=25 October 2010 |website=Serpentine Gallery |publisher=}} It was first exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery and was said to "imbue even the most mundane dusty corner with a little visual magic".{{cite news |last=Sooke |first=Alastair |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/10/31/baruna31.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611190633/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2006%2F10%2F31%2Fbaruna31.xml |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 June 2008 |title=In a class of her own |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=31 October 2006 |access-date=5 August 2021}} The other artists included in the project to document the life of the school before it closed were Christian Boltanski, Faisal Abdu'allah and the architect Yona Friedman.{{cite news |last=Smithers |first=Rebecca |date=11 July 2006 |title=Gone but not forgotten |newspaper=The Guardian |url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1817223,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=14 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214034954/https://www.theguardian.com/education/2006/jul/11/schools.uk2 |archive-date=14 December 2023}}

In 2010, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (MCA) presented Runa Islam's first solo exhibition in Australia. Works included Magical Consciousness (2010), co-commissioned by the MCA and the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MACM){{cite web |date=2010 |title=Runa Islam |url=https://www.mca.com.au/exhibitions/runa-islam/ |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |accessdate=5 September 2010 |website=Museum of Contemporary Art}} and Scale (1/16 Inch = 1 Foot) featuring the now demolished Trinity Square (Gateshead) multi-storey car park.

Islam says, "I feel I've got a lot to say with film. The camera can go to impossible places. It can re-articulate time. Films from other epochs allow you to go back in time. But so much of contemporary life is also envisioned through film and TV. We remember people we've never met because we've seen them on a screen."

The Museum of Modern Art held an exhibit of Islam's work in 2011, Project 95: Runa Islam, featuring films by Islam.{{Cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Karen |date=18 August 2011 |title=The Magic of Movies, Born From a Single Snapshot |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/arts/design/projects-95-runa-islam-at-moma-review.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231214040544/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/arts/design/projects-95-runa-islam-at-moma-review.html |archive-date=14 December 2023}}{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=Projects 95: Runa Islam |url=https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1136 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323105735/https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1136 |archive-date=23 March 2023 |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=Museum of Modern Art}} The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art featured a solo show of Islam's work from December 2016 through April 2017, Runa Islam, Verso.{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Runa Islam: Verso |url=https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/runa-islam/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103133622/https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/runa-islam/ |archive-date=3 November 2023 |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=San Francisco Museum of Modern Art |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last=Akand |first=Shawon |date=2018 |title=Bangladesh |journal=ArtAsiaPacific |volume=13 |pages=85 |issn=1558-8904 |quote=Two film-based installations by Runa Islam, along with other works, were featured at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in "Verso"}}

Awards and nominations

In 2008, Islam was nominated for the 2008 Turner Prize.{{Cite news |date=13 May 2008 |title=Turner Prize: Nominees profiled |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7397763.stm |url-status=live |access-date=1 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730092054/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7397763.stm |archive-date=30 July 2023}}

References

External links

[http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2008 Turner Prize 2008 on Tate web site]
[http://www.timeout.com/london/art/features/2188/Runa_Islam-private_view.html Runa Islam: Private View] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008200605/http://www.timeout.com/london/art/features/2188/Runa_Islam-private_view.html |date=8 October 2012 }}
A review of Conditional Probability followed by a brief interview about the work in Time Out magazine.
[http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/life_in_film_runa_islam Life in Film]
Islam chooses films and film moments that have inspired her for Frieze.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20131129202229/http://shugoarts.com/artists/runa-islam/ SHUGOARTS]
A page with a number of photographs of Islam's work and stills from her films.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080611190638/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Slideshow/slideshowContentFrameFragXL.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2Fslideshows%2Fruna%2Fpixruna.xml&site= Telegraph slideshow]
[http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2006/10/runa_islam_conditional_probabi.html Series of stills from Islam's work Conditional Probability]

=Interviews=

[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723021253/http://www.atta-project.net/en/node/199 Runa Islam Interview; Göteborg International biennial 2005]
Interview with particular regard to the works:
Time Lines
First Day of Spring
[http://whitecube.com/artists/runa_islam/text/runa_islam_qa/ Answers to Questions: Runa Islam in conversation] with {{ill|Tine Fischer|da}}
Islam talks extensively about her film work.

=Reviews=

[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art-and-architecture/reviews/runa-islam-white-cube-london-926873.html Runa Islam, White Cube, London]
Review of exhibition from The Daily Telegraph
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3656274/In-a-class-of-her-own.html The Telegraph review by Alastair Sooke]
Review of Islam's work Conditional Probability.
[http://www.frieze.com/shows/review/runa_islam/ Frieze review]
Review of Empty the pond to get to the fish from Frieze
[http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/runa_islam/ Frieze review – Camden Arts Centre]
Review of exhibition featuring the works:
How Far To Faro
The First Day of Spring