Juli Balla immigrated to Australia from Budapest in 1980 and has worked as a fashion photographer in Sydney for the past 27 years, with her work also taking her to Europe, the USA and Asia. Balla graduated from the Canberra School of Arts in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in photography, history and textiles. Since then she has lectured at the University of Technology, Sydney and Western Sydney University. Balla worked as an artist for 10 years before starting her commercial career and continues to show her personal work on a regular basis.
In 2015 Balla held her exhibition “Where the Sidewalk Ends” at Becker Minty. These images were inspired by the street photography and film stills of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Enigmatic and highly charged, these images evoke a feeling of suspended animation, leaving the audience to piece together what has happened or is about to happen. Her second exhibition at Becker Minty in 2017, titled “Persona Non Grata”, extended her exploration into human character, self expression and connection.
Balla’s work has won numerous awards in Australia and internationally. She has won International Colour Awards in both the Fashion Section (2016) and the Art Section (2015). She has also won the Advertising Award twice and the Catalogue Award seven times. Her work is included in the Kodak collection of the Australian National Gallery.