Julia Campbell-Gillies è un'artista interdisciplinare, scrittrice, fiorista e modella originaria del Sudafrica (Durban) e attualmente residente a Londra.
Dal 2016 opera nel settore della floristica, dove si distingue per un approccio etico e rigorosamente stagionale. Rifiuta l'uso di fiori importati che comportano un alto costo ambientale, preferendo celebrare la bellezza dell' "hic et nunc" (qui e ora) attraverso specie botaniche locali.
Il suo lavoro fonde poesia, botanica e arti visive. Utilizza i fiori non solo come elementi decorativi, ma come strumenti narrativi per esplorare concetti di temporalità, fede e il legame tra l'uomo e le leggi della natura.
L'esordio in Italia: La mostra Tempus Tenera, ospitata presso l'Acquedotto Augusteo del Serino a Napoli e curata da Chiara Cesari (gennaio-febbraio 2025), rappresenta la sua prima personale in Italia. In questa occasione, ha presentato installazioni site-specific pensate per dialogare con il sito archeologico attraverso la fragilità e il profumo delle piante invernali. Le installazioni floreali di Julia Campbell-Gillies esplorano il significato profondo della vita, la sua temporalità e le sue fasi: il passato, il presente e il futuro. È una condizione che ci accomuna tutti, in quanto esseri soggetti alle medesime leggi naturali. Questo tema è oggetto di indagine da secoli, anche in ambito pittorico: si pensi alla Vanitas, la natura morta simbolica che funge da monito sull’effimera natura dell’esistenza.
In un contesto storico e suggestivo come l’Acquedotto Augusteo, la vita rinasce e svanisce ciclicamente. Questo dinamismo si manifesta nelle composizioni organiche di Julia, che ha selezionato con cura varietà botaniche capaci di prosperare nel periodo invernale. Il rispetto della stagionalità diventa così centrale: ogni elemento è governato dal ritmo della natura e scandito dal tempo.
In questo percorso non vi è nulla di artificiale; è la natura stessa a guidare il visitatore lungo un itinerario silenzioso, ma denso di significato. I fiori, con i loro colori vibranti, appaiono come la risposta sorridente della Terra all'arroganza umana di chi si illude di poterla dominare. Essi restano il legame autentico con il mondo naturale e occupano il centro della scena, conservando il senso profondo delle cose: vivere, morire e infine rinascere. Gli oggetti circostanti stimolano una riflessione sulla caducità, riportando l'attenzione su ciò che è effimero e superfluo, sulla vacuità del valore e sulla finzione della bellezza artificiale.
Chiara: Hi Julia! It's a pleasure to interview you! First question that I always ask. What does a regular day look like for you?
JCG: Every day is different, which isn't surprising as I work across different fields. Some days I receive flower deliveries at dawn before going to a photo shoot and then a poetry reading in the evening. Some days I just wake up and write until I get hungry. The only constants are that I journal every night and try to sew for even a few minutes. I have been working on an embroidered tapestry piece since 2012, so a little bit every day is my goal.
Chiara: When was your passion for flowers born? And what do you see in them?
JCG: Honestly I'm not really sure. It never began in a way, there are photos of me holding flowers since I was an infant. I held a rose bud in all the photos of my christening. I have quite a complex fascination with flowers, there's so much meaning in their existence alone, but we have ascribed them so much more meaning as a medium, we talk to each other with them, we live and die with them, we mark big moments with flowers. I think they are stitched into my understanding of time and beauty and humanity. I think flowers can be expounded upon for endless metaphors. And I love metaphors.
Chiara: Which is the season that represents you the most and which flower best describes your personality?
JCG: I love the end of Winter. I love how hidden all the flowers are, which I wanted to emphasise with this installation. I think the best beauty has to be looked for. This is what Winter does, it makes you search for life. I don't really identify with a particular flower, maybe an iris. Dramatic, and delicate in some ways, tough in others.
Chiara: Can you walk me through your creative process, from beginning to the end result? Is there any painting in particular that inspired you for your beautiful installations?
JCG: I think my team will tell you that it's very difficult to work with me. I feel like I go somewhere else when I am working and sometimes it's very confusing. Sometimes I feel great clarity, imminent satisfaction and know exactly how a composition will come to be. Other times I feel a lot of pain and anguish, being dragged by the materials to a final result I can't predict. I do feel I am lucky at least to have a good sense of when something is done. Of course, most of my work ends up a photograph, which is a whole other process. Modelling has given me a good grasp of that aspect, I want to flatter the flowers. A few still life paintings helped me articulate the environment I wanted to create in this auspicious space. I am also inspired by Stephen Gill's The Pillar series, which takes portraits of birds landing on a fence post over a long period of time. Illuminated manuscripts of the medieval period are also some of the best depictions of florals to me, seeming as holy as the prayers themselves.
Chiara: What led you to agree to exhibit for the Augusteo of Serino aqueduct in Naples?
JCG: The premise of this installation appeals to my interest in history and the human story. It was very easy to say yes.
Chiara: What motivates you?
JCG: I want to affect people, I want to be changed by my practice and I want evidence of the process.
Chiara: How do you approach poetry with your floral installations?
JCG: Arranging words is a lot like arranging flowers, there's a hunt for inspiration, for material. There's all the unseen preparation, and I think that's where I should stay. I don't want to be manifest when you look at an installation or a composition or read a poem. I like the finality of these media, the viewer is alone to think.
Chiara: Favorite poet?
JCG: Louise Glück
Chiara: Last question that I always like to ask, which is the song that represents you the most?
JCG: (Nothing but) Flowers by Talking Heads
