Julian Villafane

Creating a visual language through photography is a form of escapism for me. Within that escape, I find catharsis in the stillness of images

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You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!

Voting for the Top 15 ends Thursday the 21st of May at 7PM PDT

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What is your favorite type of art to create?

I’m drawn to creating photography that feels cinematic, intimate, and emotionally atmospheric. Much of my work explores themes of isolation, memory, identity, and human vulnerability through stylized lighting, liminal spaces, and surreal compositions. I’m interested in images that feel suspended in time. These are moments that seem somewhere between reality and a dream. Rather than chasing technical perfection, I focus on mood, emotional tension, and importantly to me - visual storytelling.

Where do you find inspiration?

My inspiration lies in the works of David Lynch (a surrealist artist), and my curiosity of the human condition.

What would you do with $25,000?

I would use the $25,000 to not only Upgrade my filmmaking/photography, but eventually open a studio. With the upgrades to my equipment, It'll provide a deeper cinematic atmosphere of my work. Furthermore, I would fund a short film to explore my further aspirations as a filmmaker.

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