Juliet Rose is a photographer, artist and creator from New York. Creativity runs deep for Juliet; she comes from a lineage of artists and creatives that include both of her parents and her grandfather. Being exposed to interior design, illustration, acting, sewing, carpentry, and architecture at a very young age encouraged Juliet to find her own creative niche. As an after effect of her parents divorcing during her childhood, Juliet began to explore photography. It was a means of preserving the people and places she cared about.
This series of images is from an ongoing project of Femme Empowerment Sessions. These sessions are a mesh of glamour, documentary, and fine art photography. Her goal with this body of work is to create something that empowers not only the subject, but the viewer. Making these photographs with her subjects also does as much for Juliet herself.
I recently came out as queer, and in that I’ve found a new fire within my creative soul. I make because I know no other way to exist.
Juliet’s Femme Empowerment Sessions feel almost spiritual. She encourages her subjects to slow down and consider what really brings fire to their soul. In this, she inspires her subjects from the inside out with a loving and body positive mindset. The sessions are intentionally set up like a boudoir or glamour style session, and even include props. The purpose behind creating this work is not for another’s gaze but for the subject's own as well as a feeding collaboration between the artist and subject.
The different colors of lighting in this set from the start to the end are purposeful. The various lighting and types of film were used to show the viewer a wave of emotions the subject has gone through with her body and inner-self. The poses of her subject feel like takes on poses of women in some of the great masters' paintings as well as classic boudoir style posing. It's reminsicent of Boticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Manet’s Olympia.
In her photographs, Juliet frequently works with double exposures and the layering of images. The image below of her subject in a multiple exposure is a prime example of her signature style. It’s both disorientating and clarifying at the same time. We see the subject's face clearly, however there are two other versions of her between the multiple exposures. The other exposures of the subject’s face are not visible in the frame, but covered by flowers. The flowers can be seen as a mask over the subject, as if she is hiding behind something, not yet ready to embrace other parts of her identity.
Juliet hopes to continue this project, photographing women of all demographics and backgrounds. In addition to photography, Juliet also works with mixed media and analogue collage. If you are interested in learning more about Juliet’s work, you can find her on Instagram @julietroseproductions and at her website www.julietrose.info