{"id":19406,"date":"2013-05-31T09:56:02","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T09:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/?p=19406"},"modified":"2013-06-24T16:24:30","modified_gmt":"2013-06-24T16:24:30","slug":"julian-vassallo-photographer-interview-nsfw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wonderlandmagazine.com\/2013\/05\/31\/julian-vassallo-photographer-interview-nsfw\/","title":{"rendered":"Julian Vassallo’s self-portraits take us to the woods"},"content":{"rendered":"
The deep, dark, mostly-NSFW woods, that is.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n In real life, Julian Vassallo describes himself as a shy, calm guy with a fondness for heavy metal music. But in his startling and gothic visual world, the 22-year-old photographer<\/a> and architecture student transforms himself into a eerie, unreal subject of gloom. The Malta resident spoke to us from Italy, where he is currently enrolled in a special Erasmus programme at the University of Rome.<\/p>\n What got you interested in photography? <\/strong><\/p>\n When I was younger I wasn\u2019t into art at all. In fact, I was a very mathematical kind of person and intrigued by physics and biology. As I got older, my fascination with the beta-world began to diminish and I signed myself up for a study in architecture. I didn\u2019t know zip about architecture though and hadn\u2019t even heard of Leonardo da Vinci… To make matters worse, I was terrible at drawing and miserably failed the first year. That said, I persisted and when we had to do a photography project, I really go into that. Again, I sucked at first. I didn\u2019t have a clue how a camera worked, but my desire to improve my skills was untameable.<\/p>\n You caught our eye with your project, ‘The 52 Weeks Challenge<\/a>‘. Tell us how you got started on that.<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, in all honesty, a friend of mine who is also a photographer told me that a good way to start your photography career is by regularly posting pictures on Flickr. So I did, by mostly submitting self-portraits on a weekly basis, hence the name ’52 Weeks Challenge’.<\/p>\n Is there a concept behind these self-portraits? <\/strong><\/p>\n Not necessarily, I\u2019m just fascinated by nature and by the human body. When I began, I hardly had any contacts in the art world to reflect and exchange ideas with, so I basically just figured I might as well shoot myself. It\u2019s less hassle…<\/p>\n Without doubt, that would have to be Kris Micallef. He’s an extremely talented and established fashion photographer here in Malta. We\u2019ve become friends recently and are planning to do a project together.<\/p>\n Do you happen to have any unlikely inspirations besides the physical body and our earthly environs?<\/strong><\/p>\n When I was younger I was really into fantasy movies such as Lord of the Rings. I loved to get lost in another world. Growing up in Malta, I\u2019ve never been surrounded by lakes, forests and the outdoorsy life. Malta is quite a dense country, so maybe this submersing myself in flora is my way of compensating.<\/p>\n What’s your ultimate ambition in life? <\/strong><\/p>\n These days I\u2019m quite confused really, because I don\u2019t know whether I want to fully immerse myself in the architectural world or become a full time photographer. I hope I can be both.<\/p>\n How about combining the two?<\/strong><\/p>\n In fact, I have loads of architectural models that I could easily blend in with my photography. But my ultimate desire would be to mix architecture, photography and fashion.<\/p>\n What would you say makes you most happy in life? <\/strong><\/p>\n Fame or becoming filthy rich leaves me cold. As cheesy as it may sound, seeing my family and friends happy, makes me happy.<\/p>\n Happiness euphoria sounds legit. What do you hope the future has in stake for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n I love fashion and would really like to do editorials with designers, stylists and the whole enchilada. For now, I\u2019m mainly focussing on perfecting the art of self-portraits and finding ways to combine this with my love for architecture.<\/p>\n