Julie Van Wezemael (1988) is an artist from Ghent, where she studied Graphic Design
and Illustration at the School of Arts. She mostly makes illustrations on paper and small sculptures in clay or wood. She mixes acrylic paint, drypoint and embroidery thread to build textured worlds that are inhabited by boldly coloured animals, plants and strange creatures. They blur the lines between what’s real and made up, often with a nudge to pop culture and mythical themes.

During our lives we take on a lot of different roles that go unnoticed by others and sometimes even ourselves. Because there is no monetary value attached to these tasks they get overlooked and undervalued. I want to highlight these parts of me by sculpting deities that represent some of them. The process of sculpting, drying and painting them takes patience and time, I want to spend this time purposefully thinking about and honoring these tasks I take on.

Aside from that I want to (co)host a Death Cafe. A Death Cafe is a not for profit gathering of people that have a conversation about death in an accessible, respectful and confidential space. It’s an open conversation with no intention of leading people to any conclusion, product or course of action.

Date and Time TBD

I couldn’t physically attend the Blanco exhibition because I was working at my dayjob in the coffeebar. I painted a t-shirt that read ‘I am part of an exhibition’ and was on videocall with the Blanco space so people could see me working my shift in the bar. In the evening after my shift when the expo was over, I stopped by with the leftovers of the week.