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Julia Mekes

textiel , sociaal-maatschappelijk , installatie , Grafiek , beeldhouwen , Artistiek onderzoek

My art balances on the verge of abstract and figurative, centering on migrant identity, (post)colonial reconsiderations, sustainability and feminism. My recent artwork is revolving around archetypical geometric symbols, their presence in ancient and contemporary cultures as well as their semiotics. I believe the geometric symbols are a kind of a forgotten language that could unite us all in a form of social Pangea Ultima. I intend to continue my artistic experiments with them as an endless source of inspiration, a therapeutic instrument and as a means of uniting people. I believe, the future of art is in combination of several art forms. Each work is a part of me and my reflection on the world around as well as a dialogue with the material and place.

Unwritten Letters
Unwritten Letters (fragment) - 2025, 100/170 cm. Site-specific participatory installation.
Ties (fragment)
Ties (fragment) - 2024, 150 X 250 cm, locally found natural materials, embroidery, weaving. A site-specific performative intervention, made of materials available locally and inspired by the park itself. The elements are combined by means of weaving and spontaneous embroidery, inspired by the natural surroundings of the place where it appears. The artists offer a starting point, an impulse for anyone who would like to contribute. The artwork evolving in time and space celebrates the connection between man and nature, not the prevalence of the one over the other. It reminds about the beauty of communal work, of mutual effort and of the fact that art should not necessarily bring additional waste to the world.
Echo (prehistoric penning)
Echo (prehistoric penning) - 2024, 29 X 23 cm, linen, handweaving, natural pigments. Echo, a prehistoric medal was created within the open call for Pictura Penning 2.0. It is inspired by the centuries-old history of Pictura and that of Dordrecht. Clearly rooted in the past, Julia's medal is at the same time closely connected to modern times and the area in which it appeared, celebrating the former champions and passing on the golden baton to future generations. Echo is handwoven on a handmade loom, from linen originating from the Netherlands, and dyed with locally foraged birch tree leaves. The medieval Cistercian numbers, written in natural earth pigments, whisper through time about mysteries in the history of Pictura.
In the Skin of an Artist
In the Skin of an Artist - 2023, embroidery on repurposed materials. In the Skin of an Artist is a site-specific textile installation, concentrating on the place and the role of the artist in a modern world. Can an artist distance themselves from the political and other societal issues? Can an artist only draw the inspiration from own routes without giving anything back? Can an artist concentrate on and be satisfied with the visual aspect of art-making only? That, any many other questions is what the installation is aimed at raising.
The Lost Symbol 1 - 2023, 40 X 55 cm, embroidery and repurposed materials. The Lost Symbol series of works is marking a transition phase between mourning and new beginnings. It evokes the associations with a house whose tenants have left it forever and the curtain of memories and their past lives that will never be the same is still slowly waving in the wind. It is a waiting room, alienated, ready to be abandoned forever. It marks the point of recognition that the old rituals, the old methods do not always work and new ground should be searched both literally and metaphorically. Here begins the point of recovery every emigrant goes through in an attempt to stabilize in their new life.
The Disintegrating Canvas of Existence. Hope - 2023, 150 X 300 cm, re-purposed materials. Site-specific installation in Ati and Amicitae. The work underlines the fragility of our existence and provides insights into the possible future of humanity unless quick and radical measures are taken to improve the existing situation. Re-purposed threads have been chosen as the main medium to stress the idea that what we have done with our lives, our society and our planet is the creation of our own hands and it’s only up to us to change the things for the better. And yet, there is hope represented by a small red thread grasping on the canvas of existence like activists grasp on their belief and on each other in their fight for the better world.
Once We Awakened - 2022, 35,5 X 47,5 cm, monotype and pencil drawing on Japanese paper
VyŽyvanka, The Ritual Towel, V5 – The Sacrifice - 2022, 30 X 30 cm, cross-stitch embroidery, linen, thread, fire
VyZyvanka. The Ritual.
VyZyvanka. The Visual Book.
VyZyvanka. The Ritual Towel, V3 - Artist’s book 2022, 8 X 10 cm, cross-stitch embroidery, linen, thread

Poëtisch boekbinden

Datum:
Locatie: Wereldmuseum Rotterdam
In samenwerking met: Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

Within the workshops the participants could make a book out of poems selected in the exhibition Poetry of People

Kupalle ornaments

Datum:
Locatie: Hoek van Holland

Within the workshop the attendants could learn about ornaments and symbols, as well as their meaning and could make a small pin or a more complicated pendant.

Rooting Point

Datum:
In samenwerking met: Lena Davidovich, Tasha Arlova, Halina Mihutskaya and Darya Akhrameika

The project Rooting Point approaches the topic of migration and displacement by highlighting the strategies of preserving your own identity and adjusting to the new reality. It is a collaboration of 5 female artists of Belarusian origin: Lena Davidovich, Julia Mekes, Tasha Arlova, Halina Mihutskaya and Darya Akhrameika, each of whom is rediscovering her roots in her own way. Rooting Point delves into the process of gaining power and authority of choice, as a woman, and an immigrant. As the world

VyZyvanka

Datum:
Locatie: Netherlands

VyŽyvanka is not a book, not a piece of embroidery, not even a project.

It is a ritual, it is a prayer with a hope for a better world.

VyŽyvanka is at the same time a result fixed at a given moment and an unstoppable process.

It is an attempt to create a new reality with the language of embroidery and by means of thousands’ year old symbols and ornaments.

https://www.juliamekes.com/work/art-projects

The Reclaimed Symbol

Datum:

The project is based on geometric symbols that have been existing for thousands of years and have been preserved unchanged in the folk art of Belarusian embroidery. I believe that these symbols are a part of our common code and they could serve as an element uniting people around the world. They demonstrate that all people have common ground, that we all have the same routes, all made of stardust and that the time has come to forget about nationalism and a superior-inferior relations between us.

Deze kunstenaar heeft nog geen toekenningen.