Julian George
“My approach has always been to think about what I can positively do to bring about change”
Many words - not all of them printable on these pages - could be used to sum up 2020, but ‘pivot’ was on the lips of many whose careers and livelihoods were halted as the world came to terms with Covid. It’s a concept Julian George is familiar with, having added many strings to his bow since he studied law. Video editing, filming and directing, then later food photography. It was as the UK entered its national lockdown and Julian’s work started dropping off that he embarked on his most important project to date: Made You Look.
“I needed to diversify,” explains Julian, who grew up in Deptford with his mother, who’s originally from Sierra Leone. “Lockdown gave me the time to explore ideas, and obviously the Black Lives Matter movement happened. There were the protests, but because of Covid I didn’t go… I was gutted about that. I wanted to help the situation and, rather than just voicing my concerns, my approach has always been to think about what I can positively do to bring about the change that’s so needed for us to move forward.”
That positive change - one with the potential to have immediate impact - came in the form of a collaboration with Mike Reid, culinary director of M Restaurants and the Gaucho group. The pair set about creating a series of images to celebrate Black History Month and share the stories of black British chefs. Julian organised photo shoots with 28 chefs, from activist and cookbook author Zoe Adjonyoh and Great British Menu champion and restaurateur James Cochran to those just starting out in their career.