JulioCésartist
Benjamin Zephaniah - Poet, writer, lyricist and musician.
"Julio is a cool cat. I became aware of his work when I used one of his paintings as the poster image for an exhibition I was curating on the famous Southbank in London. It was the stand out piece of the exhibition. His work is vibrant, intelligent, relevant, and quirky. I love his work. Welcome to his world."
HOW ART HELP ME PAINT MY WAY OUT OF A CORNER
Life has a funny way of steering us toward unexpected paths. My journey—from the vibrant streets of Colombia to the bustling heart of London—has been anything but linear. It’s been a story of reinvention, resilience, and rediscovery, with art as my guiding light.
I was born in Colombia but moved to the UK in 1983 to join my father and new family to start a new chapter in London. After years of building businesses, my passion for storytelling led me to documentary photography. A trip back to Colombia in the late 1990s sparked my first major project, *Work, Play, and No Rest*, a five-year endeavour documenting the lives of disadvantaged children across five countries. The project culminated in a book, with proceeds supporting orphanages, and even earned a place in the British Library. It was a proud moment, but life had more twists in store for me.
During a challenging period—following a nightclub altercation that led to a sentence for self-defence—I found myself at a crossroads. Stripped of my cameras and confined to a cell for 23 hours a day, I fell into a deep depression. But art became my lifeline.
One day, during an education induction, I was led to a small art room. With basic materials at my disposal, I decided to copy a seaside view from an art book. That simple act of creation ignited something in me. Painting became my escape, my therapy, and my way of making sense of the world. It allowed me to process my emotions, reflect on my life, and find clarity amidst chaos.
That first painting, a humble seaside scene, marked the beginning of a new chapter. It was a moment of transformation—a reminder that even in the darkest corners, creativity can light the way.
Six months into my painting journey, a tutor offered me a solo exhibition at London’s Barristers Chambers. My first painting sold, and my work was featured in Not Shut Up, a charity supporting creativity in detention settings.
During incarceration, I created 60 paintings, many tagged with HM PRISON labels. A year before release, my work was showcased at the Southbank Centre’s Catching Dreams exhibition. Two days after my release, Benjamin Zephaniah chose my painting Miniscule Beauty as the poster image for the We Are All Human exhibition.
Awarded a fine art scholarship by The Monument Trust, I’ve since held solo and group exhibitions. I learned the colour wheel in an NVQ course but choose to look beyond — I believe creativity thrives when we break rules and trust raw instinct.
