Congratulations to Julia Lubiner Ama for earning her place as a Finalist in the Boynes Artist Award 10th Edition!

Who are you?

I always had an artistic urge since before I could talk. I didn’t learn to talk until I was three years old. I used other creative ways of communicating. My family would show me photographs of what I would do before I could talk, I would arrange my toys into a parade line. In a way these arrangements were its own sculpture/installation. The reason why I believe it took me so long to talk was because what good are words when I can show you what I am communicating. Art was my first language. Perhaps it's everyone’s first language, but it is a language I haven't forgotten.

At first, I wanted to be a fashion designer but then my interests shifted more towards art and film. At age fifteen, my favorite artists and filmmakers were Ingmar Bergman, Salvador Dali, Philippe Halsman and more. The closet thing I had to an art studio growing up was my backyard. There I would study the beauty of plants, from intricate flower petals, trees healing from chopped down branches, and elaborate molds all became a source for inspiration. My childhood not only laid the seeds but is truly when my artist journey began.

What inspired you to utilize painting as a medium?

Renaissance and Baroque paintings. There’s so much power in conveying what you imagine in such a dramatic and transcendent way. I wanted to do that for my own imaginative world too.

How would you describe your ARTwork?

Magical realism is the right term to describe my art, my paintings depict people with food and plants growing from their bodies. Blood veins evolved from veins on a tree’s leaves. Lettuce looks like lungs or a rib cage. Rose petals are always compared to lips. I see so many connections. By depicting the human body as a garden, we see how each individual is their own world as well as how we are all a collective .The goal of my art is to show people how we come from the earth. Every painting is different, with each person having different fruits and vegetables growing on their bodies. What all of my paintings have in common is that they are all supposed to look as real as possible.

Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind your finalist work?

Typically with all of my paintings, the process begins when I will look up interesting fruits and plants. Eventually I’ll come across one that I just need to paint. Then the figure comes to me. For my finalist work in particular, the idea began during the first few months of the pandemic. I saw a picture of purple lettuce and knew I wanted to paint it. Based on how it was positioned in the reference photo, I imagined a torso and chest with a lettuce rib cage. I wanted the figure to have other fruit or vegetable body parts. I have been meaning to do a painting with cantaloupe, so I thought it would make sense for the stomach to be a cantaloupe. Then for the breasts I decided on papaya. Lastly I knew I wanted to incorporate bananas browning so I made the skin resembling a banana going bad but looking purple instead.

Can you walk us through the technical steps of creating your finalist work?

I started by assembling some of the reference photos or food in front of me. After that I got the right sized plexiglass. Then I moved on to drafting the drawing that is the same size as the plexiglass. I begin the draft by drawing the figure itself. Then I use a grid process so I can place the fruits and vegetables on the body accurately. I never forget the tiniest of details so the painting can look as real as possible later. After I am done drawing I paint the base layer which is typically darker for the shades. I later painted it with lighter shades for the details. Once I am done finishing the final little details the painting is complete.

What do you hope to communicate to an audience with your work?

Currently I hope that my art conveys to the audience that everything is connected and we come from the earth. Portraying what parts of our body are similar to other plants from nature doesn’t only allow us to connect with nature but also to reaffirm our humanity.

In the future, of course I want to continue to say that message in my work. I want to make sculptures of the imaginary figures I paint for still life photography. The style of the photos will be inspired by renaissance and baroque paintings. Paintings made during that era were for propaganda to portray monarchs and other powerful figures as grandiose as possible. That’s why they are painted so beautifully. But when we learn the history, they were all terrible and committed horrific atrocities. Therefore, one of my goals is to have my art be like a Dorian Gray type of painting. I would like to test the critical thinking skills of my audience. To see how deeply they’ll really study my art in the future.

Can you discuss your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your work?

Trying to teach myself to paint mold realistically. It’s still something I’m trying to learn, trial and error. But I’m very determined to figure it out.

Can you discuss your biggest success since starting your artistic journey?

Painting and drawing realistically. I consider it my biggest success because now I can do what I want. I can visually show what I want my audience to see easier. It may seem small but I don’t ever want to take the talents that I have learned for granted.

Can you give us the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone’s artist journey and practice are not the same.

What projects are you working on currently?

Currently I am working on one painting. I've been working on it for over two years. It’s a huge painting that is of a fully deformed body with garlic stubs growing out of the head, pomegranate breasts, cabbage ribs, a fig stomach, and lastly plum skin with a disease called brown rot.

What is your dream project or piece you hope to accomplish?

I really want to learn how to make fake fruit realistically so I can make sculptures of the figures I paint. Also to use as body prosthetics for sfx make up. Once I accomplish that, I will use the sculptures as props for still life photography and for films I want to make. Also some of the actors will have fake fruit and plant prosthetics on their bodies. I have begun the process of writing the scripts and drafted pictures of how I want the future photoshoots sets to look like.

As a finalist, do you have any advice for artists who want to submit to awards, competitions, residencies, etc.?

First I want to acknowledge that submitting to awards, grants, etc is hard. Especially if you’ve done it for a long time and don’t hear back, or don’t have enough money sometimes, or don’t have enough time too. It’s best to plan and make a schedule for the opportunities that interest you the most. There’s a difference between playing to win vs playing not to lose.

Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists, what is your advice?

Be patient with yourself, there will always be life circumstances that will take time away from your art. But if you are dedicated to your practice and vision, the fruits of your labor will come one way or another. And your accomplishments will not happen how you imagine it. Perhaps it’ll be much better and humbling. I’m still learning that as well.