faces

Julina‘s feet and soul root themselves wherever her body goes. She‘s now in Belfast and in this picture her face and hands are rooted into the bright, cold surface of the scanner.
 Julina loves the term and practice of “rhizomatic education“. For her embodied knowledge and experiential learning are at the core. She describes herself as an ecofeminist body designer, nature-based maker, artistic researcher, and socially engaged multidisciplinary artist and emerging educator. Many words.

In her work, she explores the multitudes of conflict transformation and peace-building through implementing a pedagogy of ecology, reciprocity and care. She believes that by creating spaces where mental health, story-telling, collective making, spiritual practice and the human connection to our natural environments intertwine, we can build methodologies for healing and change.

She is currently researching what happens when our human skin touches the surface of the earth. Also known as “earthing“ or “grounding“. In connection to this, she invites you to walk barefoot as a research, grounding and meditation technique.
Julina fell in love with Divis and the Black Mountain, so you might find her walking barefoot there.

"I'm this face, I’m Lukas, I'm a man, I'm a doubter, I'm not straight, I'm not from Belfast, my friends have the same political leanings, I'm a dog person and an artist. Who are we? And do I decide that or you?"

In our societies we are continuously challenged to answer these questions. Lukas creates education and art with local people and communities about identity and authenticity. In the works they don’t answer those questions, but ask those questions. He believes that we can become closer to each other if we get to know ourselves better. And understand ourselves better when we have empathy for others.

Together with others, Lukas is in search of how to be human in this day and age. Because, am I because you are or are you because I am?

This is Uga, but she's also known as Ugne. This is Uga's face, but who's hands these are we don't know! She is an artist, educator and a big sunshine energy. She is fascinated about mapping whatever is seen, but unseen, in sight but the the same time hidden. Let it be buildings or humans or both. What are we accustomed to in everyday that we don't notice anymore? Her work might take various shapes, be it performance, painting or drawing, an assembled object, but they all are unified by the same visible-to-invisible narrative.

sc - a——n- - n-in— - g—
beaming flashes going on and off
back and forth
awakening this (captured) photograph

In the stillness of forgotten spaces
——the remembrance of what used to be,
Sofia is curious in understanding the abandonment,
its beauty— perhaps.
There is a poetic element to it. Seeing shadows emerge through the disintegrating walls, shattered windows, and overall decay. Knowing these spaces/structures/architectures are defined by the mere memory of others. It’s the natural decay of a city, its visual existence and embodiment, that speaks to Sofia.

take a minute– look around you, and observe what kind of buildings you notice.

This is Sofie. This is how her face looks like when you lay it flat on a scanner. She is an artist, educator and facilitator. She is intrigued by archives and how we structure our remembering through big (institutional) and small (personal) actions of archiving. She often looks at the abundance of things, and how we navigate our own truth(s) through such abundance.

She thinks, writes and documents a lot of the world around her. Her work takes a lot of different forms but always questions the world-as-it-is.

Meet Shahrzad, a storyteller and illustrator from Iran. Her work thrives on black lines, dark humor, and creativity. She sheds light on taboo topics and overlooked issues, challenging societal norms with personal anecdotes. Shahrzad believes in the transformative power of humor, especially where protest is restricted. She has always been captivated by off-limits subjects, those considered unfit for casual dialogue. She is exploring how dark humor can be a way for people to cope and heal and why she is drawn to it. Her human characters often take center stage in her illustrations.

Gabriela Arce Montes

Meet Merle! When she puts her face under a scanner, the joy radiates from her expression! She breathes games and laughter. As a artisteducator, she always strives to the joyful essence of play into her artworks. For Merle, the world is a playground where one can invent and craft their own rules. She believes that through play, we forge connections with others in ways far beyond the ordinary. With Merle at the helm, art becomes an experience open for everyone to enjoy.

This is Gabriela, an art teacher, Mexican, and a crazy cat lady. As an artisteducator, she aims to create safe and inclusive spaces for community engagement through art, focusing on care and fostering a sense of belonging. She is interested in working with young people and storytelling, and she utilizes her body as an expressive tool by incorporating dance and performance into her practice.

This face is always shy, yet within her soul burns a flame, calmly awaiting the one who comes to warm themselves.

Chen Jiaming, born in China in 2000, is a graphic designer. Nurtured by an artistic family, she has aspired to be an artist since kindergarten.

In her journey through art education, the discord between her inner desire for uniqueness and the “banking model of education” system has spurred her pursuit of self-rescue and determination. Thus, choosing artist educator as a catalyst for change was her first step forward.

She hopes to embrace diverse forms of expression through the prism of multi-faceted aesthetics. They can be clumsy, fragile, or as radiant as summer flowers. Throughout her personal growth, she gradually discovered her innate sensitivity as a gifted member of the highly sensitive population: sensitivity - like an unpolished gemstone within her, gradually shining brightly, also aiding her in exploring the inner strength of people's differences in artistic education.

She also firmly believes: "The old that is strong does not wither as deep roots are not reached by the frost."