Yulia Belousova

"My work is an exploration of identity rooted in ongoing anthropology and cultural research, weaving my personal journey with the broader threads of collective and universal consciousness. Grounded in the study of philosophy, ancient symbolism, and the laws of nature, I reinterpret these cultural artifacts to reveal their contemporary relevance.

In my art, I pursue simplicity to allow space for universal resonance, even as I grapple with life’s inherent complexities. Since my work is deeply connected to my own history, it embodies a profound feminine perspective. A study of the feminine is fundamental to my practice, shaping my investigation into the boundaries between the personal and the collective, the human and the whole."



Yulia Belousova

*1991 Moscow, Russia
Lives and works in Berlin and Mexico

Education

2020 Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts
2011-2015 University of Art, Berlin, Germany
2011-2012 Università degli Studi di Napoli L’Orientale, Naples, Italy
2008-2011 Hamburg University, Art History, Hamburg, Germany

Yulia Belousova is an interdisciplinary artist and writer with an educational background in art history and fine arts.

Working across film, photography, installation, and performance, Yulia’s practice is semi-biographical, drawing from her personal history and experiences. Her art functions as a conduit, aiming to bridge the gap between the individual and the collective, the self, and the universe. Her work ignores the prescribed division between art and life, aiming to close the gap between the contemporary art world and society as a whole.

Her work is deeply interwoven with themes of identity, femininity, and a profound connection to nature. Her best-known early series, Ephemeral Dinners, rooted in relational aesthetics, is recognized for its collaborative nature, transience, and exploration of human environments where she aligns her artistic production with an ethic of social engagement: often inviting viewers to inhabit and activate her work.

Ephemeral Dinner has been presented across Europe and beyond, often in non-institutional and site-specific spaces as well as in galleries and cultural institutions, including Carlos Tache Gallery in Barcelona, Manifesta 12 at Palermo’s vibrant Ballaro Market, and Haus am Lützowplatz in Berlin, to name a few. This series canters on inclusivity, examining how we relate to one another and challenging established art systems and norms to foster a more horizontal approach to coexistence.

Recently, Belousova’s work explores the fundamental nature of human existence, critically examining our relationship with the world and the cosmos. She interrogates the ethical implications of our presence on Earth—particularly how we engage with the four elements and their deeper meanings. What does it mean to inhabit this planet not as an owner, but as a temporary visitor? And at what cost? These questions are reflected in her most relevant paintings, poems, and video works.

Whether by setting herself on fire in BURN TO BURN (2024), embarking on a risky research trip through the Yucatán Peninsula jungle to explore ancient fishing practices and interviewing the last remaining local fishermen, offering visitors free food in her Ephemeral exhibitions (2014-2020), or challenging audience expectations in A Non-Performing Performance (Manifesta, 2016), Belousova consistently integrates everyday life rituals into the art-making process. Through these relational aesthetics, she fosters dialogue and invites reflection on cultural engagement, social practice, authorship, and ownership. Her participatory artworks—immaterial, beautifully ephemeral, and sustained only through public memory—embody a deep commitment to these ideas, while her paintings and installations materialise these experiences in a grounded, earthy form.