Here and Now: Gold Coast Triennial 2024 Digital Gallery
Ju Ferreira
b.1990 Minas Gerais Brazil, lives Gold Coast QLD
My grandmother was a dreamer , 2024
digital illustration on Giclée paper
Image courtesy of the artist
Artist Statement
My artwork honours my grandmother, whose life story exemplifies resilience, faith, and finding beauty in everyday life. Born on a farm in Brazil, she was sixteen when her mother passed away, leaving her to care for her younger siblings. Despite hardships, she carried a dream to learn embroidery, a skill she is developing at 82.
In my illustration, she embroiderers her heart outside of her chest, symbolizing the love and strength she poured into everything. Her chest is full of flowers, representing the beauty she nurtured despite poverty and the tears sheds are rainbows, reflecting her ability to find hope and light in the darkest times.
About the Artist
Born in 1990, Ju Ferreira is a self-taught Brazilian artist working with illustration, murals, and paintings. Based on the Gold Coast for the past eight years, she has a background in advertising and is nearing the completion of a Bachelor of Design at Queensland College of Art and Design Griffith University.
Ju merges expressive figurative styles with surreal elements, with the female figure as the central character in her compositions. Drawing inspiration from her ancestors' stories and contemporary culture, her work spans both digital and traditional media. Driven by a curious and childlike perspective, Ju enjoys exploring often unnoticed details of everyday life. Her creative process is characterised by observation, research, experimentation, and a passion for visual storytelling.
