Julie Cockburn

JULIE COCKBURN (b 1966)

Julie Cockburn's embellishment of found paintings and photographs by embroidering, painting and reassembling, delivers the images out of redundancy into a meaningful present. - Jonathan P Watts, 2012

Julie Cockburn's work is best defined by its delicate craftsmanship and by the transformation of everyday and found objects into works of art. Through the manipulation of found items and images - such as ceramic sculptures, paintings, photographs, printed paper and books - Cockburn, who lives and works in the UK, evokes a sense of both the new and the spontaneous.

Cockburn studied at Central St Martins School of Art and Design and Chelsea School of Art, London. Through the combination of second-hand objects and creative labour, Cockburn contradicts the generic and mass-produced with something crafted, imbuing her intellectually and physically worn objects with value. Techniques such as the childlike embroidered patterns that feature on found photographs and printed images, draw the viewer in to a sculpted journey of labour and creation. Cockburn's work challenges the means by which things are seen and visually digested, shown by the playful visual exploration of the materials she employs.