Logo Goethe-Institut

Canada

"Wake Up"
 Isaiah Lopaz

"Wake Up" by Isaiah Lopaz (Music by New Past) © Isaiah Lopaz | Courtesy of the Artist

Made from over ninety hand cut collages, Wake Up is a video collaboration between Isaiah Lopaz and sound artists New Past. Based on a short story inspired by the lyrics of Wake Up (a song written by New Past), this piece highlights the dangers of not collectively resisting systems of oppression and structures of violence typically viewed as isolated events. This work is a call action which underscores shared responsibility and the links between communities, cultures, struggles and resistance movements.

Collage illustrations, story, and direction: Isaiah Lopaz
Music: New Past
Motion design: David Warmbold
Assistance: Moya Michael
Length: 6'58 min.
Year: 2022

"Wake Up"

"Wake Up" | © Isaiah Lopaz, used with kind permission of the artist

"Wake Up"

"Wake Up" | © Isaiah Lopaz, used with kind permission of the artist

"Wake Up"

"Wake Up" | © Isaiah Lopaz, used with kind permission of the artist

Isaiah Lopaz

Isaiah Lopaz

Isaiah Lopaz | © Matt Lambert

Isaiah Lopaz is a transdisciplinary artist, writer, and archivist based between Brussels and Rotterdam. Drawing from recent family histories shaped by colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade, their practice explores the ways in which personal narratives inform broader global entanglements. They are the founder of Black Visual Grammar, an evolving workshop and exhibition project that documents Black perspectives through collage-making and public archiving. Their work has been presented at institutions including: the HAU, the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, and the DAAD Galerie. They have been a guest lecturer atKunsthochschuleWeissensee, UDK, and St. Lucas Antwerp, and have received funding from the Berlin Senate for Culture and Europe, and StiftungKunstfonds.