Something that has been forgotten invites listeners to embark on a hypnotic experience and sink deep into the earth, embracing a sense of non-separation and unearthing memories of past or future connections and trajectories. Merging the practice of hypnotherapy with the synergy of voice, electronics, and resonant instruments, Julia's approach to hypnosis emphasizes collective healing from the symptoms of living in an ill society, leveraging the power of communal rest. She's inspired by science fiction, subcreation and the erotic.
Below is an interview between TUO TUO’s cofounder, Kaitlyn D. Hamilton & Julia E. Dyck ︎︎︎
Kaitlyn: If someone is curious about hypnosis but unsure of how to explore the option, what advice would you share to support how they show up to a session/ to ease any apprehensions or insecurities they might be having?Julia: I understand that people have a lot of wild ideas about hypnosis from movies and stage shows, but in reality, it’s a super safe, beautiful, and empowering practice. I think it’s important to remember your own agency over your mind and keep in mind that consent is really crucial. No one can hypnotize you without your agreement. As the hypnotist, I’m just the guide, lighting the way, but you get to choose where you want to go.
Hypnosis can be really powerful and profound, but it's also a gentle practice. It gives you a chance to observe your thoughts, patterns, behaviors, and emotions without actually experiencing them in a safe context.
When it’s someone’s first time, I just ask them to approach it like an experiment. Don’t stress about whether you’re hypnotized or not. A good way to start is by listening to a recording or attending a group session before booking a one-on-one session. It’s a softer entry point that helps ease the mind.
K: What’s one of the coolest shifts, evolutions or transformations you’ve witnessed so far since you began this practice?
J: One of the coolest transformations I’ve seen has been my own. I’ve witnessed amazing shifts in my clients and group participants, but sometimes the deep effects of this work aren’t immediately obvious unless it’s something like treating addiction or phobias, which is pretty remarkable. My journey with subconscious work began in 2016 when I saw a hypnotherapist to quit smoking – the classic. Beyond kicking the addiction, the session helped me visualize the version of myself I wanted to be. Once I had this image in my subconscious, everything started shifting towards becoming that person. Every now and then, I’ll realize that I’ve actualized something I visualized in a hypnosis session, and it’s really beautiful.
K: Can you talk about your queering approach to hypnosis? Also, how do you think the format changes when an art lens is applied?
J: There’s something inherently queer about hypnosis as it allows for an expansion of the self and opens up new ways of seeing and interacting with the world. My approach is rooted in relationality and creating a sense of non-separation from the universe. I’m really inspired by speculative fiction and worldbuilding, which is almost essential when living in a society that doesn’t always support your experience.
As an artist, I offer a different experience than a Psychotherapist; it's much more grounded in storytelling, metaphor, and visualization, whereas others might focus more on suggestion. When I started my hypnotherapy certification, I saw it as deep artistic research. Over the two-year training, I realized I wanted to develop the practice beyond just performances and installations. Now, the line is completely blurred. I think an art audience is often more open to the hypnotic experience, or at least curious, and it’s awesome that museums and art galleries are interested in hosting my sessions. I see a wave of other artists combining wellness or healing practices in their work – it’s like art is filling a gap in traditional mental health care. It raises some questions, but it’s also great to see this work happening in a community setting.
K: What’s one thing you want people to know about your approach to hypnosis?
J: I really want people to understand the power of their own mind, as cheesy as that might sound. Hypnosis and visualization are supported by neuroscience – if we can see something in our mind first, then it becomes possible in the world.
Julia E. Dyck is a Brussels based artist. Julia’s relational and speculative practice explores the possible connections between the body, (sub)consciousness & technology through performance, composition, installation and transmission. Trained as a hypnotherapist, Julia creates experiences of collective transformation and somnambulism with a focus on the sonic. Using sound, vibrations and waves as important levers of healing, Dyck considers real listening, to the environment and to others, as a possible anti-normative and queer act. Dyck’s practice includes her own modes of transmission and dissemination, such as the monthly t.r.a.n.c.e community hypnosis sessions with live sound she conducts in her Brussels studio with Diana Duta, the lecture-meditations she offers, and the personalised sound prescriptions made up of poetry, sound creations, binaural beats and ASMR that she produces with the Audio Placebo Plaza collective (with Erin Gee and Vivian Li).