In this series the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (“GSNWR”) becomes a microcosm of the conflicting dualities and realities that are present within Julien’s home state, the experience of becoming a young-adult in American suburbia, and ultimately the conflicts that exist within the swamp. The photos portray what occurs when two conflicting dualities meet. This intersection, where the border – the border that is simultaneously created and destroyed – between conflicting dualities exists, allows for critical dialogue. It allows for art to occur, and for new perspectives. The GSNWR, like the state it resides in, is made of many conflicting dualities. In the 1960s, 4000 acres of the swamp were nearly developed for an airport. Presently, the GSNWR is used by 244 species of birds while a swath of the protected land belongs to an electrical company, with power lines supplying the electrical lifeblood of the Tri-State area. This body of work highlights these intersecting dualities, exposing the strangeness that occurs at these borders, but the series also depicts the beauty that can exist within the meshing of two conflicting realities or histories. To accept two conflicting realities takes a certain amount of maturity. As Julien grew up in New Jersey he came to realize things that he had taken for granted about where he grew up, things that he has immense pride in, but there are also deep flaws inherent to the area as well. He sees this all reflected in the swamp.
