About

 

Julia by mes is a German-Canadian visual artist based in Ottawa whose work explores trauma, healing, and identity through vibrant colour, layered symbolism, and intuitive storytelling. She describes her style as post-traumatic pop art.

Julia began creating art in 2024, despite never having drawn before. What started as a personal attempt to make sense of experiences that could not be expressed through words quickly became an essential creative practice. Living with dissociative identities informs her work, which is guided by intuition and invites viewers in through bold colour and playful imagery before revealing deeper and sometimes unsettling emotional realities.

Before becoming an artist, Julia worked in criminology, labour market policy, international relations, and human resources. She holds degrees in Social Work and Criminology and is the author of one book and editor of another, both focused on stalking and harassment.

Alongside her art practice, Julia facilitates neurographic art workshops and is passionate about making creativity accessible as a tool for reflection, curiosity, connection, and self-expression.

 

Artist Statement

I create drawings and painted stone works that explore trauma, healing, identity, and the stories we carry beneath the surface.

My work ranges from large, vibrant marker drawings filled with symbols, figures, and interconnected lines to small illustrations and stone-based projects. I work intuitively with fineliner, alcohol markers, acrylic markers, coloured pencils, paint, and found stones. Bright colours, flowing lines, and playful imagery appear throughout the work, creating visual representations of inner experiences that are often difficult to put into words. At first glance, the bright colours and playful imagery can appear lighthearted. Looking closer reveals the complexity of the stories being told.

I began making art after realizing that some of the stories I carried could not be told through language alone. Rather than starting with a plan, I follow internal images, emotions, and fragments of memory as they emerge. Drawing allows me to tell stories about trauma and healing that feel difficult, and sometimes impossible, to explain through language.

I want to give form to what is usually unseen. I am interested in creating work that invites recognition rather than explanation. I make art about trauma, and I am interested in the creativity, intelligence, and resilience that make survival possible.