Julia Diago (She/ Her)
Winner
FUTUREPROOF 2021: Selected Artists
Hola! My name is Julia Diago.
I’m an artist based in Glasgow whose art speaks about the blurred line between fiction and reality.
I narrate my thoughts mainly with photography as it lets me explore my constantly changing interests, whether be game theory, performance art or myths.
This year the pandemic brought with it a rollercoaster of emotions; our homes became a place with four walls keeping us safe while our minds wandered off with no possibility of escape. In my case, this pandemic trapped me with a new companion called anxiety in a building located in Glasgow called Variety Gate.
After a long time struggling to develop ideas for my final year project confined in my flat, I found the solution to extend my studio into an unexpected place. The blue corridors in this building converted into a project called I entered on the deep and savage way.
Book – I entered on the deep and savage way.
I entered on the deep and savage way takes us on a journey of self-doubt and loneliness. An endless maze where the reader often loses the beginning turns left for another path and turns right for a dead-end while seeking the exit.
The corridors with their monotonous blue carpeted floors, just seen as a place of transition, now took a form of a labyrinth—a suitable metaphor for these times where every day seems long and the same as the day before. This place may seem familiar to the people lost in the deep abyss of uncertainty.
Once the images captured and highlighted specific spaces’ materiality, which now are transformed into a book. The photographs are woven in with a text by Victor Diago, which is inspired mainly by Dante’s Divine Comedy and many other authors. An audio piece composed by the musician Porpita Prunella acts as a background score and brings a more profound feeling of anxiety and claustrophobia. These alliances create a more intricate dialogue where the narrator explains his journey while encountering a mysterious figure as his guide.
I recommend that you play the audio piece while browsing through the book to have a fully immersive experience of the visceral paths of this Labyrinth!
Exhibition Catalogue – I entered on the deep and savage way.
This project came to its completion when it interacted with the spaces again in the form of an Exhibition (held in Variety Gate from 30th of April to 3rd of May). The photographs were not only displayed but were blended into the corridors themselves in the form of an installation. After several lockdowns and many months spent sharing these corridors with the neighbours, it suited to dedicate this exhibition to the Variety Gate residents. The non-residents of this building can now experience it through a carefully curated catalogue.
