I am Júlia Kemp, a Dutch-Brazilian artist based in Amsterdam. Working across painting, performance, and documentation, I explore storytelling through materials such as ceramics, wool, and leather. These materials become both physical and symbolic carriers of memory, experience, and meaning.

My practice is rooted in an exploration of intersectional feminism, queerness, and human relationships with objects. I am interested in how personal and collective narratives shape the ways we understand ourselves, others, and the seemingly lifeless things that surround us.

Growing up largely in Brazil and spending my teenage years in the Netherlands has deeply influenced my perspective. Moving between these cultural contexts has made me attentive to the feeling of belonging while simultaneously feeling slightly outside of it. My work reflects on this experience of navigating identity, social expectations, and the everyday act of fitting into a society without completely belonging to it.

In my visual work, I use colour, abstraction, and layered compositions to create spaces for reflection, dialogue, and imagination. Rather than providing fixed answers, I invite multiple interpretations and encourage new conversations through humour and childlike narratives. Personal memories and everyday experiences become starting points from which broader questions about identity, relationships, culture, and belonging can emerge.

Although my work often engages with personal and social themes, I intentionally make space for lightness. Humour, playfulness, and hope are essential elements of my practice. I believe art can offer not only critical reflection, but also joy, recognition, and imagination. For me, meaningful connection can emerge precisely in the balance between vulnerability and playfulness.