Julia Fullerton-Batten
12 September 2024 – Time to read: 5 min
Julia Fullerton-Batten
The Theater of Life. Julia Fullerton-Batten. Text by Claudio Composti
Julia Fullerton-Batten (born 1970) is a British-German photographer who explores themes related to identity, history, and the human condition through her photography, which features scenographically complex images. She creates powerful visual tableaux vivants, balancing aesthetics and content. Her images are not just visually appealing but are loaded with meaning, containing real narratives that invite viewers to deeper reflection. Each photograph is meticulously planned: she uses actors, specific locations, costumes, and cinematic lighting to create detailed environments that capture the viewer’s attention and convey a sense of suspended and dreamlike narration.
The Old Father Thames Series
A significant example of her approach is her latest series “Old Father Thames,” in which she explores the history of the River Thames, evoking its traditions, legends, and characters from London’s past, such as the “mudlarkers”—children and adults in extreme poverty who, from the Victorian era until the early 20th century, would scour the muddy riverbanks barefoot during low tide under harsh and dangerous conditions, searching for anything they could sell: pieces of metal, coal, bones, coins, or items of historical value. Another episode depicted is The Thames Whale, which occurred in 2006 when a whale swam up the channel and became stranded in a bend of the river. This event symbolizes the parallel world of the Thames, unpredictable and alive, at the heart of London, where anything can happen.
“Frost Fair” – Three Extraordinary Photographs Dedicated to the Circus
Julia Fullerton-Batten devotes a portion of her work to the theme of the winter circus, the “Frost Fair.” During the 19th century, Northern Europe experienced a kind of mini ice age, and it was common for the Thames to freeze solid, supporting both people and things, creating a fair-market as an integral part of London life. There were vendors, sellers of all sorts, exotic and bizarre shows, acrobats, jugglers, and animal trainers. In her mises en scène, Julia portrays all these characters in surreal performances, masterfully recreated as if on a real film set—gathering up to 100 actors—where the lines between historical reality and fiction blur. Through her works, Julia Fullerton-Batten brings forgotten characters and stories of the past back to life, creating a dialogue between different eras that have seen the Thames become the stage for the incredible theater of life that has animated it for centuries. She opens imaginative windows into a world balanced between history and legend, with a technique so masterful and captivating that it makes Julia one of the most recognizable and awarded voices in contemporary photography.
On display at the MARCOROSSI contemporary art galleries in Milan, Turin, and Verona from September 19 to November 2.