Keeping the Balance by Julia Walter

Artist list

Julia Walter

While working on the exhibition for Galeria Tereza Seabra I found myself between unknown presence and unknown future, trying to keep the balance between chaos and order, mystery and reality, light and darkness.

I believe in the preciousness of all things and the magic of the moment. I believe in giving and receiving, in fortune, love, materiality and spirit. I follow my instinct. My work starts with drawing and collages on paper. I pick up forms and signs that surround me and transform them into the shape of a piece of jewellery, a pendant, a talisman, a friendly companion.

The material I use in my recent work is Galalith: milk stone - from the greek words: gala (milk) and lithos (stone). It is a thermosetting polymer of which milk protein is a major ingredient. It was developed in 1897and was used as a substitute for a wide variety of materials, such as horn, coral, ivory, semiprecious stone and wood. 100 litres of milk can produce approximately 3kg of Galalith. The material lost importance through the development of fully synthetic plastics, though its organic qualities, its wide range of possible appearances and its sustainability make it a very contemporary material.
-Julia Walter