IN SHADOWS WE BOOGIE ▪️ An exhibition by JULIA WINTER

 “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new sights, but in looking with new eyes.”

Marcel Proust

An exhibition about home, travel, and the stillness in between

Julia Winter, multi-media artist on the topic of crossing cultures, finds the concept of ‘home’ difficult to describe. It’s no wonder. Her parents are Russian. She was born in Moscow. At the age of 1 she moved with her family to Vorkuta at the Northpole. Currently, between her many travels, Julia lives with her Dutch husband in Amsterdam and Singapore.

This exhibition is a selection from the series Dolls and Double Portraits. Julia explores the meaning of home, the joy of traveling and the serenity of standing still to define her inner self in-between journeys. In her works of mixed media our absorption in the past and returning to the present moment, our dreaming and waking, the inner versus the outer are playing a significant role. By showing the cross-overs Julia visualizes how in historical and cultural terms, these images are subject to change.

Dolls is an evocative series that delves into the theme of duality, capturing the physical and psychological split of existing in two different worlds and living in different cultures, like East and West, Europe and Asia. Utilizing recycled bits of fabric and lace, the art-works carry a sense of history and renewal, where each material is repurposed to create something new. The unfinished appearance reflects the ongoing process of traveling away and returning home, symbolizing the journey of reclaiming one's identity after being exposed to other cultures and cityscapes. The raw, unpolished elements invite viewers to consider the beauty in imperfection and the strength found in re-building, re-using, re-cycling...

Works from the series Double Portraits reflect an internal balancing act, showing how dual realities are shaping who we are. Julia works in layers of photography on glass, painiting and objets trouvé, which present themselves in various dimensions depending on the perspective of the viewer and reflections of shadow and light.

Both series, the Dolls as well as the Double Portraits, embody the push and pull of dif-ferent facets of life, where both environments leave their mark, contributing to a com-plex, multifaceted sense of self.

Viola Winokan

September 2024