Julie Ryder

Julie Ryder is a Canberra-based artist who has recently completed a Master of Arts (Visual Arts) at the Australian National University.

For the past 15 years her focus has been in the medium of textiles and she has exhibited in more than 70 solo and group exhibitions Her work is represented in many major public and private collections both in Australia and overseas.

Julie's previous qualifications in science have informed her work since 1995. She has researched the innovative technique of fruit fermentation by placing fruits directly onto cloth and allowing fungi, bacteria and moulds to colonise in a semi-controlled environment. After several months the fabric is harvested, sterilised and washed, leaving indelible biological imprints, a process she entitled ‘Nigredo', after a transformative stage in ancient alchemy. In conjunction with this creative technique, she combines more traditional methods of surface design such as screen-printing, monoprinting, applique and stitch.

Julie states that the ANAT/Synapse Residency has provided her with the opportunity for her to expand the area of her arts practice to include digital design, immediately contributing greater potential for creative and artistic freedom. Many of the works in the exhibition have used scanning electron microscopy and digital software to explore the history of the collection, classification and taxonomy of bryophytes as well as their global ecological importance.