Image: Oriana Julie
January 27 - March 28, 2025
Artist talk: Friday February 14, 5:30-6:30
Gallery II, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Free entry, all welcome
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You can find Oriana Julie’s exhibition in The Mill’s Gallery II, located at 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta (Adelaide).
Gallery II is open Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm.
Accessibility
The Mill has two entrances, the main entrance on the corner of Angas and Gunson Street and an accessible entrance further down Angas Street.
Both doors are locked from the outside, there is a doorbell on the main door that will alert The Mill team. They will meet you at the accessible entrance to welcome you into the building.
The Mill has concrete flooring throughout with no internal steps and a disability toilet on site.
Read more in-depth information on our accessibility web page.
We are excited to present Head in The Clouds, a new exhibition by Oriana Julie developed through our Visual Arts Studio Residency presented with support from donors Geoff Martin and Sorayya Mahmood Martin.
Head in The Clouds is an exploration of creative play, embracing spontaneous method making in order to form a hybrid, affective sanctuary. Oriana uses foraged objects - discarded furniture, vintage glassware, beads, synthetic fibers, and organic matter - turning everyday items into objects of divine contemplation. She speaks about the idea of sublime escapism, where she has created a shared affective experience for audiences. Here, art and art-making exist outside of language and are instead experienced through feeling. Slow and meditative processes are positioned as a form of care and the body is grounded through the state of creative flow.
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Situated on Kaurna Land in Adelaide, Oriana pioneers a visual language rooted in Afro-surrealism, leveraging imagination to embrace empowering diasporic narratives. She blends bold visual and performance artistry to spark dialogue on time, identity, and culture, transforming personal narratives into spaces of sublime escape informed by personal mythos. Her work is characterized by a fusion of African American and Italian heritage, shaped by her upbringing on an Air Force base in Woomera and the lush landscapes of the Adelaide Hills. These diverse influences create a unique exploration of cultural identity.
Oriana’s creative process is deeply connected to the sensory experiences of the body. Utilizing various mediums such as oil paint, beads, and resins, she creates immersive environments that translate embodied sensations into material expression. Inspired by Rococo, Surrealist, and Neoclassical aesthetics, her work blends symbols and motifs into a harmonious chaos.Through her innovative approach, Oriana contributes significantly to the academic and artistic discourse on Afro-surrealism and its relevance in contemporary art culture
In 2022, Oriana graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Art from Adelaide Central School of Art, earning an invitation to pursue Honours. Over the past few years, she has secured various commissions and residencies. In 2021, she participated in the Nexus Arts Studio residency, held her first solo exhibition, and engaged in a mentorship with Faye Blanche of the Unbound Collective, which enriched her artistic perspective and earned her a nomination for the Don Dunstan Foundation Award. In 2024, she was awarded the Mill Visual Arts Residency, with a solo show planned for 2025, and participated in the Post Ofiice Project’s Studio residency. She was also invited to partake in the Post Office Projects Performance Program, supported by the Creative Industries Grant from the City of PAE and the Kick Start Graduate Grant from Adelaide Central School of Art.
Oriana continues to push the boundaries of Afro-surrealism, contributing to its discourse and evolution within the contemporary art world. Her work not only reflects her unique cultural heritage and personal experiences but also serves as a powerful commentary on the complexities of identity and the human condition.
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Informed by my childhood experience of always "having my head in the clouds" and being "off with the fairies," this body of work seeks to reframe this personal narrative into a space of sublime escape through spontaneous method-making, depicting a personal mythos. These moments of sublime escape explore the function of fantasy as an intrinsic tool for imagination, deeply connected to embodied feelings. In this realm of sublime escapism, I grant myself permission to delve into the depths of my being and emotions. The works can be viewed as an internal dialogue, manifesting in tactile forms.
The exhibition unfolds as an internal conversation, guided by personal mythos and translated into the tactile and material expression of embodied sensation. The sensory processes of the body are integrated into the art-making, forming an intrinsically connected environment through various mediums. In this space, distinctions between worlds and categories dissolve. Soft hues articulate a union between the characters and the spaces they inhabit. During these moments of sublime escape, the characters find solace in transcending societal constraints, becoming unapologetically empowered.
This exhibition has support from
The Visual Arts Residency is presented with support from donors Geoff Martin and Sorayya Mahmood Martin