Part Two in a series on "Home", introduced by Ann Tornkvist


Julia Gillard photographs her immediate and extended family, and the suburbs where they live, to examine the social class into which she was born. "Taking photographs is a way for me to explore my past; specifically the values, expectations, and beliefs found therein. I am looking at the American class system. When I photograph upper-middle class suburban families, I witness the nuances and complexities of people who at times feel guilty about having too much, may be mannered yet isolated due to their privilege, and who can be disengaged in their most intimate family relationships." Her photographs are taken from a certain distance that reflects the discretion and restraint that she learned, she notes, "in the solitude of this class."


Julia Gillard, born in Illinois, is a recent graduate of the Photojournalism and Documentary Photography program at the International Center of Photography. She is currently working on "American Holidays," a project that documents the ways in which Americans from different regions, cultures and classes celebrate their
ordered days off. She lives in Brooklyn.