LONG WALK TO EDEN, Julia Milns

Lauriston Gallery 27 Apr 24 - 25 May Jun 24

Long Walk to Eden is a thought provoking body of work by local artist Julia Milns - a layered narrative that refers to the struggle, resilience and adaptation to change of our natural spaces; and a call to action locally and globally to create and protect them.

In this new body of work, Julia hopes to invoke dialogue around the protection of the earth’s precious natural resources. Each artwork draws inspiration from the surrounding areas of Julia’s home and work life - capturing the transformation evident in her local habitats, such as the re-wilding of available spaces and peat land restoration projects, alongside continuous urban development.

The earth forms an integral part of Julia’s work. Locally excavated and hand processed clay is used within the origami sculptures; the detailed drawings make use of charcoal, lichen and moss derivative, spirulina, as pigments; and textured surfaces imitate the earth itself. These intricate details have been carefully thought through, to subtly reference and parallel the soil processes essential to our continued existence.

In her novel, ‘The Sum of All Things’, Elizabeth Gilbert notes that ‘the greater the crisis, the swifter the evolution’ which seems to resonate with our contemporary dilemma in dealing with the climate crisis. War against climate change is a global challenge to protect our resources from depletion or degradation and to support innovative sustainable solutions in order to survive. This is a new legacy of war in the history of mankind.

Julia Milns is a multi-disciplinary artist working from AWOL studios in Hope Mill, Ancoats. Born in South Africa, Julia now lives in Flixton and has referenced many local places of restoration and protection in her works, such as Dutton’s Pond, Green Hill and Carrington Moss. Alongside her artist practice, Julia runs art workshops and is environmentally active within the local area; participating in regenerative projects that all feed into the themes of her work. Julia was part of the allotment team who developed an eco-diverse feature area with a pond at Stockdales in Sale, enabling the observation of soil activity, weather effects and encouraging wild life. She has also been part of Manchester City of Trees, planting bulbs and clearing invasive areas locally.

Curator: Michelle Keeling

Images by Jason Lock