Julia Wallman is a textile artist working sculpturally with quilting, sewing, bead embroidery, and textile dyeing. Her work is always rooted in textiles, regardless of material or method, and takes shape as tactile, sculptural pieces that explore shifts in scale and material as a narrative form. By investigating how perceptions of authenticity, affection, and dimension transform over time, their practice invites both visual and physical engagement.
Flowers often play a central role in Wallmans work, both as a visual and conceptual element. Symbolizing transience and the passage of time—something that grows, withers, and transforms—floral motifs connect to an overarching theme of impermanence and change. This influence is deeply personal, inspired by their father’s work as a florist. Alongside floral imagery, elements related to the body frequently appear in their work, including body parts, clothing, and food, creating a dialogue between the organic and the constructed, the personal and the universal.
Recent works focus on interweaving materials and methods through textile sculptures, incorporating dyeing, patination, and bead embroidery. Drawing on the symbolism of braiding—twisting, wrapping, knotting, and binding—they explore themes of indulgence, perfection, and surrealism. The braid serves as a symbol of control and care, an act imbued with tenderness and precision, whether found in a plaited loaf of bread or braided hair. Each braid tells a story of hands at work, of holding on and letting go.
In addition to her artistic practice, she works with textile dyeing and patination within the world of costume design and performing arts. Through these techniques, they contribute to creating depth, history, and atmosphere in costumes—bringing fabrics to life by enhancing their textures, colors, and wear. This process aligns with their broader interest in transformation, materiality, and storytelling through textiles.
Through her practice, she seeks to create a surreal dreamworld where reality and imagination merge—where the familiar meets the unexpected. By combining braiding techniques with floral symbolism, they explore the intersection between the recognizable and the surreal, through textile sculptures.