Plastered Walls

Perhaps the most personal connection between Jonathan's past and present can be found in Plastered Walls. Having spent his working life as a plasterer, Jonathan combines the material world of his trade with his passion for portraiture. The plastered wall becomes more than a backdrop. It represents his working life and provides a physical connection between the person he was and the photographer he has become. Using natural daylight entering from a side window, Jonathan creates carefully considered portraits inspired by the qualities of traditional painting. The texture of the plaster and the simplicity of the setting allow the subject to become the focus. There is something deliberately circular about the work. The trade that Jonathan once regarded simply as his occupation becomes part of his artistic practice. The plastered walls that surrounded his working life are transformed into the backdrop for his portraits. Across these bodies of work, Jonathan Foulger's photography is ultimately about people: who they are, where they come from, how they are perceived and how places and societies change around them. His work is neither entirely documentary nor entirely traditional portraiture. It sits somewhere between the two — using the visual language of classical portraiture to tell contemporary stories. Whether photographing homelessness, subcultures, local communities or individuals against the walls he has spent a lifetime plastering, Jonathan approaches his subjects with curiosity, empathy and respect. The result is a body of work that is as much a portrait of a life as it is a portrait of the people and places that have shaped it.