Noting the prevalence of facial hair in fashion today and how the manicured, yet rugged man has become far more common, Julia Fullerton-Batten set out to contrast these ideas. She photographed these bearded men in overgrown green houses, depicting nature not only reclaiming space but also taking back the man, creeping into the subject’s beards. Like Roald Dahl’s Mr Twit with countless food particles caught in his beard, these male subjects reflect the societal perception of the aloof man, decorated by floral arrangements . These flowers, carefully intertwined with their masculinity, show not only the complexity of the male role within fashion but within modern society as a whole. In essence, Julia’s images question the symbols and messaging associated with masculinity, the modern man is pulled in two directions. In one, showing a masculine side, but in another, displaying their sensitive being, all while these two notions begin to come full circle, the feminine becoming the essence of the rugged and natural man. These images offer a provocative look at the nature of beauty and strength.
Julia Fullerton-Batten is a world-wide acclaimed and exhibited fine-art photographer. The foundation of her success was ‘Teenage Stories’ (2005), an evocative narrative of the transition of a teenage girl to womanhood. It portrays the different stages and life situations of an adolescent girl’s transition to womanhood as she grapples with the vulnerability of her teenage predicament – adjustments to a new body, her emotional development and changes in her social standing. Her book ‘Teenage Stories’ was published in 2007*.
Fullerton-Batten was commissioned by The National Portrait Gallery in London to shoot portraits of leading people in the UK National Health Service, which are now held in a permanent collection in the Gallery. She was a winner of the HSBC Fondation pour la Photographie award, and is a Hasselblad Master. Her images were on the front covers of ‘A Guide to Collecting Contemporary Photography’ (Thames and Hudson, 2012) and Eyemazing Magazine. She is widely sought after as a judge at prestigious international photographic competitions and as a speaker at international events.
Major events in which she has recently participated include Fotografiska, Stockholm; Noorderlicht, International Festival of Photography, Kristiansund, Norway; Dong Gang Photo festival, Korea; Daegu Photo Biennale, Korea; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and Fundacion Caja, Madrid; Pompidou Center, Paris; Shanghai International Photographic Art Exhibition; Hereford Photo Festival; The Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai (MOCA Shanghai).
Guest Speaker – National Geographic Seminar in Washington DC; Fotografiska, Stockholm, and Noorderlicht, Norway.
