Julie Devisme, Photographer

I grew up in France, in a town not far from Paris. Since I was a little girl I always had the dream of living there, in the big city were so much things were happening. Growing up so close gave me the opportunity to discover this city at a young age, and I’m sure it helped me develop my creative curiosity.

When I was younger, I think I was imagining life as a single and unique path, where everything was supposed to fall into place at some time. Growing up and deciding to go and live abroad for sure changed that way of seeing life, and I then understood that life is made of a lot of different paths coming and going, a lot of people appearing and disappearing and of course, a lot of trying and failing in order to be able to understand what we are really « supposed » to do here in this world. It is going to sound very obvious, but the most important thing that my parents taught me about life, is to never give up, and to believe in myself and in my choices even if the results aren’t here yet.

I think always knew I wanted to have a creative profession. When I was a little girl, I was passionate about crafts, colours, any type of manual activity that involved cutting, gluing, drawing. In a natural way, I always assumed that this was going to be part of what I would choose to do someday as a career. But photography wasn’t the first and obvious option. After studying design and art for a few years after high school, I then decided to specialise in embroidery and textile design in Paris. It was a radical choice, as it wasn’t a common one to make. After graduating, I moved to Barcelona and worked in different fields such as interior design, product design and communication… And in a very natural way, photography appeared to be a perfect tool for me to express my creativity.

I arrived in Spain after graduating in textile design in Paris. I came the first time as an Erasmus student, in order to finish my studies. But it’s been ten years now… And I’m still here! Barcelona stole my heart and I developed all my personal and professional life here. After 9 years living in the centre of the city, I then chose to move to a smaller and  quieter area, and that’s what brought me to Vilassar de Mar.  It’s a place I had always dreamt of being able to live here, and when the opportunity came, I didn’t have to think twice.

Here I find a more peaceful way to live and develop my work as a photographer. My mission is to give light and visibility to creative people and craftsmanship in Maresme and surrounds. I think what I love most about what I do, is the connection I’m able to create with people during a photo session. During this short amount of time, I’m able to enter a small part of their world, their creativity and their project. Being photographed is a very intimate moment, where a lot of people feel kind of vulnerable and uncomfortable. Being able to share this moment with them and try making them feel « themselves » in front of the camera is definitely one of my biggest (and favourite) challenges.

Julie Devisme @ju_dvsm