Artist Statement
Julia Blume breaks down the false dichotomy of “humans” and “nature” in her work, and she considers the political implications of this artificial separation. Symbolic shape making and interactions with space are used as a way to enter into communication with the various entities of the land. Organic and highly processed materials collaborate to form ambiguous collectives. Sculptures reference fungus, insects, and deep sea creatures, but are painted in luminously artificial shades. Her recent sculptures reckon with the process of distilling the natural world into human narrative. This distillation is a process of entanglement and love, but it can also be a violent mechanism. Plants turn from collaborators into symbols, animals turn from creatures with desires and minds into fables. She offers modes of engaging with wild places both large and small, while asking what human story-making will bring about in the wilds of the world.
