Every now and then, you stumble upon a piece of art that takes your breath away. I recently had that happen to me with one of the pieces you see below, coming from Charleston, South Carolina, based artist Julia Dotson. Julia creates wonderful, bleak watercolors and enhances them with red thread by either drawing or sewing them on by hand. Her latest illustrations are the first part of a series of four called ‘Thread: A Documentation of Oppression’. In the series, Julia explores the oppression of women in modern society. The women, portrayed by the birds, are constrained by society while struggling to break free. The upcoming parts of the series will explore this theme even further in different mediums, ranging from sculpture and two-dimensional work to a possible performance piece.
The first part of ‘Thread” A Documentation of Oppression’ is a great start for what can become a fantastic line of work. Julia’s drawings are realistic and haunting to see, even more when you know about the story she’s telling. And, what might surprise you is that Julia is only 16 years old! With quality work like this and a head filled with ideas I’m sure we will hear a lot more of Julia in the future.
For more information on Julia and her work check out her website, Tumblr blog or Instagram.
