Nadia Lee Cohen on Glamour and Nostalgia and the Heimlich Maneuver

A collection of 101 faux documentary-style photographs – conceptualised by artist and model Nadia Lee Cohen, and photographed by Martin Parr – Julie Bullard is a photobook disguised as a late 70s photo album, filled with all the satire and social commentary you’d expect from the respective artists.

Published by IDEA Books, the collaborative book is positioned as a continuation of Cohen’s 2021 project HELLO My Name Is, also published by the London-based publisher and, like Julie Bullard, also chronicles a fictitious rendering of life. However, instead of taking from many different lives, Cohen’s collaborative venture with Parr hones in on a very specific one - with Cohen’s one-time baby sitter, who had a monumental impact on her as a child, acting as the vehicle for this exploration. ‘I was intrigued to join her on this journey of childhood memories, and to try and capture that sense of innocence.’ told Parr to press. As intrigued as Parr, SHOWstudio's Jonty Race spoke with Cohen about the real and fictional Julie Bullard to understand more.

Jonty Race: Memory is perhaps our most powerful creative impetus. What is your strongest memory of Julie Bullard and how does your work capture this?

Nadia Lee Cohen: Her hair, that’s the strongest and clearest memory. It was a mane of blonde curls. That felt the most important to emulate as it was the most impressive thing to me when I was six years old – Side note: Jake (Jake Gallagher, Nadia’s hair stylist for this project) and I were in the wig shop in London surrounded by potential candidates for Julie’s hairdo, and he choked on a piece of chewing gum. He turned blue and the lady who worked there had to give him the Heimlich manoeuvre. He actually almost died for this project.

JR: The notion of glamour is a motif that consistently runs through your work. How has your opinion on this changed since your childhood spent with Bullard?

NLC: I think she was the sole catalyst for my interest in glamour, and in giving me an understanding that people actually considered their personal appearance. I recently realised that it’s the thought behind something that particularly interests me and also interests Martin; noticing how someone looks or what they’ve chosen to put-where in their house, and imagining what the thought process was behind it.

JR: What can you learn about yourself through inhabiting someone else?

NLC: Im unsure of what I learn, but I know how I feel, and I really enjoy it. I think it’s no different to playing in the school playground, or probably the same enjoyment people get from acting.

JR: You’ve previously cited Martin Parr as an inspiration for you. How did your creative relationship with him manifest? What was it like to work with him?

NLC: He is heavily responsible for the way I see my environment, and as a result how I construct my images. I have a deep respect for him; plus we actually get on very well. There is no other way to describe working with him other than he’s just ‘Martin’. He’s unique, likes what he likes and knows what he doesn’t, which I respond to very well having spent a lot of time in LA.

JR: Why did you decide to incorporate death into the photo album?

NLC: The book is about a life, and death is just a natural part of that. It has nothing to do with the real Julie Bullard; it’s more about Martin’s natural ability to make any situation seem lighter and cosier than it really is, and that was the ultimate test.

Julie Bullard was launched with a book signing at Dover Street Market London, coinciding with Photo London 2025, in an edition of 2500 copies available at both IDEA books and Dover Street Market.