Artist statement
The 'Dark Matter' sculptures and drawings refer to the vast majority of matter and energy in the universe that exists but cannot be seen. The work also reflects my interest in the experience of place and the ability of art to enable access to abstract, remote and invisible spaces including the space of the human unconscious.
In the 'Dark Matter' series I exploit the possibilities of bitumen to explore these interests. The sculptures are composed of bitumen, one of the oldest materials used in building. Bitumen is a petroleum derivative and fluid material that can feel solid at room temperature, but moves over time. The sculptures soften in heat, permeate the space with scent, and move to ground.
Using this material allows me to explore work that like nature changes over time and moves from form to formlessness. Like most natural processes the movement is irreversible; it only proceeds in one direction. In the future each sculpture will exist only as a pool of pitch containing itself and other things entrapped in it.
The black structures and their descent into disorder evoke ideas of entropy, chaos and loss.
Qualifications and training
- 2005 MA Fine Art Sculpture, Wimbledon School of Art, London
- 1998 BA (Hons) Fine Art Sculpture/Art & Architecture, Kent Institute of Art and Design, Canterbury
Employment
- 2007 Lecturer, University of Kent, Canterbury
Group exhibitions
- 2013 Assembly II, Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable
- 2013 Spring Exhibition, St Augustine's Library, Canterbury
- 2012 Assembly, The Assembly Rooms, Faversham
- 2012 Whitstable Biennale Satellite, Whitstable Marine, Whitstable
- 2012 AA2ALAB, Herbert Read Gallery, UCA, Canterbury
- 2011 Exhibition Beta, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks
- 2010 The Art of the Artist's Book, Curator Chido Johnson, Detroit/Chicago/New York
- 2009 Turner Contemporary Open, Margate
- 2009 AA2A exhibition, University for the Creative Arts, Canterbury
Live/Performance
- 2013 Evening in the Colony curated by Hartmut Austen, Grant Wood Colony House, Iowa City
Artist talks
- 2009 Work and Ideas, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Residencies
- 2012 AA2A, UCA, Canterbury
- 2009 Laughing Waters Artist in Residence, Nillumbik Shire Council Parks Victoria, Australia
Other
- 2010 Blog: Julie Mecoli Diary of an Injured Artist, University of Kent, http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/juliemecoli/
