Julia Buruleva: Artistic Expression Laid Bare

Born and raised in Russia, Julia Buruleva is a photographer and art director who pushes the boundaries of the human body as a means of expression, embracing the possibility of the unexpected, and letting events transpire naturally.

Julia Buruleva’s transformation from being a commercial photographer to exploring and traveling the world, combined with the impressive architecture and vibrant culture of Barcelona, inspired her to realize she had a gift for art.

Beyond Nakedness

Currently based in Barcelona, Julia Buruleva explores the naked human body beyond just sexual expression, but rather as a link between one’s body and their surroundings, embodying the spirit of freedom and beauty. With the naked human body as a “particle in the world of aesthetics,” she creates artworks with a remarkable depth that captures the beauty and mystery of the world at large.

Through these surreal works, we see the beauty of humanity through Buruleva’s perspective in an admittedly confusing and incomprehensible world. Moreover, there is little heavy digital editing except for basic retouching and an emphasis on the sets where models, tools, and backgrounds are all a part of the process.

Buruleva hopes that her art will inspire fellow creatives not to be afraid of utilizing the human body to generate unique and experimental ideas that will inspire many more.

Notable Works

In Julia Buruleva’s work Be Part of Art, inspired by the city of Barcelona, we see how she plays with artistic photography as a performance. She invites anyone and as many models as may show up, using only minimal direction and a theme determined by the location and props—an excellent portrayal of how she embraces the unknown and lets circumstances decide what happens.

At that moment, humanity spoke for itself, as she did not have a concept of the final result, and she just invited the people and let things naturally unfold.

Another notable work by Buruleva is the photo performance Selfie Isolation—self-portraits and behind-the-scenes videos made in her quarantine flat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, she used the timelapse videos to demonstrate what exactly she did to get the result and prove that she created all the pictures in one location.

All she used was a white wall and some belongings she had at home, like clothes, food, and paintings. This limited scope enabled her to come up with new ideas, like a kind of surrealistic theater, and create all the scenes in reality.

Julia Buruleva has also done editorial work for major publishers such as InSTYLE, L’Officiel, Rolling Stone, SICKY Magazine, PAP, Solstice, and HUF.

A Play on Circumstances

To Julia Buruleva, the most important thing is the process. She leaves room for circumstances to occur, allowing improvisation to be possible. “That gives me an opportunity to create something unexpected, and with a touch of luck—the result can be even more impressive than I could have imagined before,” she emphasizes.

Moreover, through the human body—usually naked—as the main object, it becomes the smallest particle or the very foundation of the art itself. “The way I play with scenery, objects, light, and decorations gives us the feeling of surrealistic. It’s important for me to create a theatre stage in reality and play on it,” Buruleva adds.

Discover More

By letting humanity display its most vulnerable side, Julia Buruleva goes beyond the naked human body’s sexuality and pushes the boundaries of artistic expression. Allowing circumstances to occur elevates her art and adds a touch of sincerity that is not often seen today.

Check out Julia Buruleva and her artworks on her Instagram page.