ABOUT THE ARTIST
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
In early 2020 the world was succumbing to a pandemic and I had just found out my husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Friends and neighbors were continually checking in and kindly asking: “How are you?” I was numb and typically answered: “I’m Fine.” One day as the words left my mouth, I had an epiphany. I saw the paradox: My world was collapsing but the brave little girl inside knew she must overcome and survive. Thus, the I'M FINE Project was born.
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The I'M FINE Project became my personal therapy to express both the trauma I was experiencing and my drive to break through and overcome it. As the project progressed, I started to receive both public and private comments. That is when I realized it was also a way to amuse and encourage others who were suffering. I am deeply aware of the pain and struggle in the world, and I do not wish to make light of suffering; but I have an optimistic aesthetic, which I am keen to convey with as much wit and whimsy as I can muster.
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Each I’M FINE piece is an epigram, a paradoxical parody, a form of Pop Art. They are drawn from my love of art history, literature, music, theater, television, film and people. I consider the individual pieces as a complete work. However, when the entire oeuvre is presented, it will be as a conceptual installation.
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Julie Headland was born in Newport, Rhode Island, raised in Annapolis, Maryland and resides in Westport, Connecticut. She attended The George Washington University and The Corcoran College of Art both in Washington D.C.