Julia Fullerton Batten

Julia F Batten makes some pretty interesting images. One series that caught me was a series called Teenage Stories. In it, she takes pictures of teen girls in city scenes. However, the girls in each photograph happen to exist in each scene as 500 ft tall people. Using detailed scale models, Julia builds sets, and then has the model exist in the scene, creating an akward image that compliments and conflicts. Some images look relatively correct at first glance, but then once you realize a girl is standing next a suspension bridge instead of a footbridge, the problem is realized.

The concept behind the images tells of the akward life of teens, and so by relating the size of the girl to the surroundings, the akwardness is visable. Some images are humorous, and some are a little disturbing, such as a girl discarded under a bridge with a deer. Or a girl on the side of a highway who was in a bike accident.

I especially like these images because at first i thought they were all digitally created, until i was able to look closer and realize that the scenes were in fact manufactured, and the girls photographed inside them. This just goes to show that there are very concrete ways of creating images, without having to be dedicated to working with all kinds of files and heavy editing.