Julia SH, has lived a life marked by twists and turns. Originally studying to become an actor, she was quickly sidetracked by life’s unpredictabilities, which have forged her into the person she is today. Julia’s journey has been anything but ordinary—she’s worked as a bounty hunter, worked in palliative care, won the lightweight division in the US Open in sumo wrestling, ran a marathon in North Korea, crossed the Gobi Desert by camel and performed standup comedy to empty and half-full rooms.
Her bio might read like the tale of a cartoon character, but Julia has lived many lives. She thrives on discomfort and personal challenges. An award-winning photographer, she deftly navigates the worlds of Fine Art and commercial projects, finding equal joy in Fine Art, commercial portraiture, creative beauty editorials, and the synergy of all three.
Julia relishes collaboration, working with artists across disciplines—painters, dancers, writers, makeup and hair artists, and other creatives. She frequently photographs female models with body types often overlooked in traditional photography, framing them in a Fine Art context. By portraying these models as sculptures, paintings, or even as geographical terrain, she disrupts the viewer’s instinctual sexual judgments, instead inviting an aesthetic appreciation of the unique geometry and textures of their bodies, challenging societal standards of attractiveness.
Julia’s work challenges the concept of photography as a modernist medium. She creates images inspired by sculpture and painting, approaching them as though they were made in a non-photographic medium.
CV:
Education:
MFA Fine Art, Slade School of Fine Art, London, U.K.
BA Fine Art, Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, London, U.K.
Solo Exhibitions:
OMVANDLING, Galerie XII, Los Angeles, U.S.A
Studio Practice, Foto Nostrom, Barcelona, Spain
Group Exhibitions:
Nude, Fotografiska, Berlin, Germany
Embrace the Difference, Fotografiska, Tallinn, Estonia
International Localized Image Festival, Yiwei Gallery, Shenyang, China
ImageNation, Galerie Joseph Le Palais, Paris, France
Nude, Fotografiska, NYC, USA
BBA Photography Prize Remix, BBA Gallery, Berlin, Germany
BBA Photography Prize, BBA Gallery/Kühlhaus, Berlin, Germany
Nude, Fotografiska, Stockholm, Sweden
BBA Photography Prize, RAW Area, Berlin, Germany
Melancholia, Foto Nostrum, Barcelona, Spain
Krause Gallery, NYC, USA
IPA Best in Show, Foremost, Okinawa, Japan
IPA Best in Show, Splashlight Studios, NYC, USA
Lenculture, ParisPhoto 2019, Paris, France
CameraUSA, Naples, Florida, USA
Girlgaze, Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles, USA
Varsalongen, Liljevalch, Stockholm, Sweden
The Supercute World of Hello Kitty, EMP Museum, Seattle, USA
The Supercute World of Hello Kitty, Japanese American Museum of National Art, Los Angeles, USA
Opening Show, Schlifka Molina Gallery of Contemporary Art Buenos Aires, Argentina
It’s a Small Small World, Family Business, NYC, USA
T.O.M.E, Last Rites, NYC, USA
ArteBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
BAPhoto, Buenos Aires, Argentina
CSM, Bloomberg, London, U.K.
New Media, Lethaby Gallery, London, U.K.
Varsalongen, Liljevalch, Stockholm, Sweden
Awards:
Lens Culture Critics’ Choice, 2022
PSX3, Fine Art Series Silver, 2021
Moscow International Foto Awards, Silver, 2021
Tokyo Foto Awards, Advertising, Gold 2020
Lens Culture, Best of Lens Culture, Juror’s Pick 2020
PSX3, Fine Art Series Silver, 2020
IPA Fine Art Photographer of the Year 2019
Julia Margaret Cameron Photographer of the Year 2019
Getty Images Creative Bursary 2019
One EyeLand Gold Award 2019
UCL Grant 2007
Swedish Church Art Grant 2007, 2007
Publications:
Vogue, Another Magazine, i-D, Normal, Aestetica, The Guardian, Now This, It’s Nice That, Blink, Paper Mag, Cosmopolitan, Triple J, VICE, Glassbook, Nakid, A+, Schon, The Opera, T.O.M.E, Huffington Post, Normal, Live Fast, OOB