Julie Pawlowski

Shuttling my fifteen-year-old son across Los Angeles for school and soccer, our car has become an extension of our home. For six months, I have documented the quiet and chaotic rhythms of this daily commute, capturing intimate moments inside the vehicle alongside the abstract visuals passing outside the windows. By treating the vehicle's movement as an active collaborator, I surrender control to the camera, allowing physical motion to shape each frame. Embracing this unpredictable flow means trusting the natural pace of life's seasons and finding peace in both change and stillness.

This creative letting go mirrors a deeper personal journey of navigating our evolving relationship and fostering my son’s independence as he forges his own path. Through blended exposures, I emphasize how contrasting realities coexist within us and across this megacity: calm and turbulent, independent yet deeply connected. Ultimately, this body of work serves as a visual archive of a precious, fleeting chapter with my youngest child, reflecting both our shared transit through the streets of LA and the universal transitions of motherhood.

My identity is rooted in 19 acres of Northeast Ohio land—a place where a piece of my heart will always reside. Built by my grandfather’s hands after he returned from World War II, the house began as a humble basement dwelling under a temporary roof, sheltering a family of six. What started as a post-war refuge slowly evolved into a sturdy, brick-by-brick home, with windows added only as money allowed. This land raised my mother and shaped who I am; it remains a living bridge connecting past, present, and future generations.

Through photography, I explore this deep connection, capturing the interplay of time with each return. Every corner holds a memory. The dense trees whisper history, physical footprints trace decades of harvesting, and the rooms echo with ancestral stories. Ultimately, this land and its endurance serve as the foundation for my project, using the camera to document the quiet perseverance and structural strength of family.

For the past year, I've been chasing light across Southern California and learning a new culture, urban landscape, and color palette that is vastly different from the midwest I grew up with. My recent images document LA from the perspective of my car as I travel throughout the megacity. Capturing both the quiet and chaotic moments, I'm embracing long exposures and allowing car movement to help dictate the final image and paint the abstract rhythms of LA.

Images from The Horning Nursery series document Julie’s reconnection to her great-grandfather’s farm while presenting her first impressions of a history never told. After nearly 60 years, a recent visit uncovered answers to family mysteries, revealed lost items long discarded, and presented a new story to include in her identity.

Spanning the years 2014-2017, Remember My Heart is a series exploring the process of displacement and forced migration rapidly unfolding in traditional Shanghai communities due to mass urbanization. Along with the evident physical transformation, this upheaval is playing a vital role in modifying the cultural and social dynamics throughout China. The hidden narratives from within the disappearing shikumen and longtang neighborhoods reveal what will soon become history.  

Julie has always been inspired by nature and seeks out diverse landscapes through her travels near and far. Since 2013, she has documented her explorations including North America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Switzerland, and Iceland.

Painted with oil on solid birch wood panels, this ongoing series studies the abstract qualities of mountain landscapes often allowing the loose brushwork to determine the overall results. 

Each work is unique, original and signed on the back. All artwork for sale is labelled as AVAILABLE.

For purchase and framing options, please contact julie@juliepawlowski.com.