Prophecies of the Land
Installation view, Prophecies of the Land, Bigelow Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery.
Digital painting and installation
Prophecies of the Land is a digital painting and installation project by Juls Gabs, developed during her 2025–2026 Artist-in-Residence at Mount Auburn Cemetery. The work reflects on life, death, and transformation through a series of still-life flower paintings and a site-specific installation that imagines the land as a living force—one that absorbs our energy and transforms it into new forms of life.
At the center of Bigelow Chapel, a suspended installation forms a waterfall of white lilies, descending through the space as a symbol of continuity, renewal, and quiet transcendence. Surrounding this central gesture, digital floral paintings are placed throughout the chapel, alongside smaller works positioned in intimate corners and along subtle paths. These quieter pieces explore themes of memory, searching, healing, and the vibrancy of life, inviting visitors into slow, personal encounters.
Blending the tradition of still-life painting with contemporary digital techniques, Prophecies of the Land reimagines the chapel as a space where remembrance and regeneration coexist. Visitors are invited to move through the installation at their own pace, reflecting on how the ground beneath us carries memory forward—transforming presence into ongoing life.
Prophecies of the Land reimagines Mount Auburn Cemetery as a living, evolving ecosystem. Through suspended Fabriano paper flowers, still-life paintings, and media objects, the project explores how landscapes transform life into new forms, adapting through natural cycles, climate change, technological advancement, and human presence.
The starting point for the work was a simple, unexpected moment. While walking through Mount Auburn with my family, we encountered thousands of migrating tadpoles crossing the paths. The scene was overwhelming and beautiful, and it revealed something essential: this land is not static. It is active—storing memory, energy, and life.
The installation transforms Bigelow Chapel into a new environment where the earth’s constant processes of decay and renewal become visible. Mount Auburn is not only the subject of the work, but also a collaborator—a place where memory, transformation, and future landscapes converge.
Installation view, Lilies
Fabriano paper flowers. Steels chains, crane hooks.
"Still Life 7" 2025
Digital painting Giclée print on Hahnemühle German Etching
"Still Life 3" 2025
Digital painting Giclée print on Hahnemühle German Etching
The still-life flower paintings sit at the core of this project. These works are about holding memory—especially the memory of something that is disappearing or changing. Flowers have long symbolized beauty and care, but they also demand presence. They remind us that nothing is meant to last.
They speak to transformation: when physical energy ends, it does not disappear. Through the land, it becomes something else—flowers, vegetation, microorganisms, worms, soil. The ground becomes the element that connects us all.
Rather than sadness, these works offer quiet hope. Transformation is not an ending, but a continuation.
Detail 1&2, "Still Life 3"
"Still Life 6" 2025
Framed. Digital painting Giclée print on Hahnemühle German Etching
"Still Life 1" 2025
Digital painting Giclée print on Hahnemühle German Etching & Water Jet Cutting Aluminium structures.
Fracture is a recurring strategy in my practice. By piercing, sewing, cutting, and breaking materials, I aim to connect two worlds: the digital and the physical. The fracture itself becomes a point of connection.
Another tension present in the work is that between industrial aesthetics and organic forms. Nature always finds a way through artificial structures. Artists who have strongly influenced this dialogue in my work include Julie Mehretu, Camille Henrot, and Letha Wilson.
Bench vise and scissors detail
The floor plays a central role in my work. I often place pieces on the ground rather than on the wall. This approach is influenced by exhibition philosophies present at institutions like Whitechapel Gallery in London during the 1970s and 80s, and by artists such as Phyllida Barlow and Rachel Whiteread.
Placing work on the floor removes hierarchy. Art is no longer above the viewer—it exists at the same level. It becomes something we encounter physically.
Art is not above us - Art is us.
Installation view, Prophecies of the Land, Bigelow Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery.
Digital painting and installation
StillLife #1, detail 1
StillLife #1, detail 2
StillLife #1, detail 3
Detail magnets 1&2, "Still Life 5
"Still Life 2" 2025
Digital painting Giclée print on Hahnemühle German Etching
Installation view, Prophecies of the Land, Bigelow Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery.Digital painting and lilies installation