As Studio Poca, Julie de Ruijter develops ritualistic artworks, combining textile-, graphic-, and spatial design. The love for textiles and print design arose during her fashion studies at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Through Poca, Julie now uses her design skills for more autonomous projects. Studio Poca is about creating total experiences. Spheres that let you escape from the known paths and patterns. Activating you to experience yourself outside fixed borders and to connect to your intuition and feelings.

Julie describes her art and artistic vision as  ‘intuitive and symbolic expressions of dialogs with the elements, the natural world, dreams and visions. I find myself constantly trying to capture the intangible.’  

‘Nowadays we are more disconnected from nature than ever before, creating a disconnection from our very own nature, our physical bodies and our feelings. Our minds are often overstimulated, we feel numbed or stressed but unable to release that tension. Reconnecting to natural cycles and rhythms through art and rituals helps us to reconnect to what we feel instead of clinging to what we think. Through that process we start to recognise what our body is telling us. What we really need to feel well, when our actions are in sync with who we are. Art is and has always been a mirror for the artist as well as the spectator. By consciously using this mirroring effect, and letting the person that is experiencing the artwork or space interact with it, the experience can provide unexpected insights into deeper layers of the self.’

The Moonphases series is an example of how Julie invites you to connect to natural Rhythms and cycles. These meditation scrolls capture the Moon’s shifting energy. This collection of textile artworks was shown during the Grey Space in The Middle, together with a Poca New Moon Ritual. A few of the Moonphases scrolls are still available.

Currently Julie is working together with Beer van Geer on a project called ‘Woven Rhythms’, funded by de Gemeente den Haag and the Prins Bernhard Fund. This project is the result of Julie’s research during her artist in residence at Stichting Ademruimte. The result of this research has led to a new technique in which various patterns in the human heart rhythm are translated into generated textile prints. These portraits of the heart will be shown during an exhibition that will take place in 2021.

Contact

Julie@studiopoca.nl

+31 6 81 78 69 03