In The Timber Julia Oldham explores her fascination with bug culture through a combination of performance and video art. Oldham’s creations utilize her body’s physical presence to examine the conflict between unity and disharmony all human beings struggle with in relation to nature. Shooting her videos outdoors in the wilderness, she takes on the role of the insect, using her appendages to replicate the movements and respond to the sounds these creatures make during climactic life moments. Oldham’s art re-contextualizes the human relationship with nature, drawing attention to our competing responses of curiosity and repulsion when confronted with the insect world and relating them to our struggles between empathy for and alienation from nature.

Get to know Julia Oldham:

Julia Oldham Interview from Art in General on Vimeo.

The Timber is part of Art in General’s New Commissions Program, which is made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; The National Endowment for the Arts; the Jerome Foundation; and Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro.

Press
Julia Oldham in KCLOG Visual Journal
Full text of journal entry here