As Studio Poca, Julie de Ruijter develops ritualistic artworks, objects and experiences. With an emphasis on textile design, atmospheres, natural and sustainable materials. Through her work, Julie explores how restoring our connection to our intuitive, visual and symbolic world can contribute to new systems of life.

‘I create tactile, symbolic expressions of dialogs with the elements, the natural world, dreams and visions. With the intention of leaving a path for others to unfold the layers of their own intuitive and visual inner world. My art acts as a ritualistic practice where I explore ways to reconnect with natural cycles and intuitive knowledge. Like a bridge between two worlds, I find myself constantly trying to capture the intangible.’

At the moment Julie is working on the project ‘Totem’. A series of textile artworks where she creates textile Totems and symbols based on someone’s heart rhythm. They are, as it were, symbolic portraits of someone’s inner world. The research project Totem is a collaboration with Beer van Geer and will be exhibited this Autumn at the Grey Space in the Middle in The Hague. This project is the result of Julie’s research during her artist in residence at Stichting Ademruimte. Which has led to a new technique in which various patterns in the human heart rhythm are translated into generated prints.

After her fashion studies at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Julie worked for a while as a fashion designer. The constant state of overstimulation and exhaustion, that she noticed in herself and her surroundings, caused her to delve into ancient spiritual systems and self-developed rituals for several years. As her art began to merge with this ritualistic approach, Studio Poca was born.

‘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 intuitive knowledge 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.’