JULIEN BONET - Milton

Technique: Promptography on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper
Size: 50 x 40 cm
Edition: 3 + 1 AP
Year: 2024-25

Signed, dated and edition numbered by the artist on a separate label.

Milton

A figure made of twisted sheet metal, sharp-edged and colorful, stands in the middle of a devastated street. Behind it: a wrecked car, debris, and snapped pylons. The costume appears as if it were woven directly from the remains of the disaster—a second skin made of storm and debris.

Milton is named after a storm. In meteorological practice, hurricanes and cyclones are given both male and female names—a strange gesture of personalization that humanizes natural forces and gives them a face. Bonet reverses this logic: He gives the catastrophe not just a name, but a body.

The work refers to real weather disasters, which are becoming increasingly common – accelerated by climate change and human intervention in nature. But instead of merely documenting them, Bonet transforms the figure into a mythical being: half memorial, half survivor. The mask doesn't protect against the storm; it is the storm itself – a reminder of the fragility of human order in the face of the elements.

Part of the ongoing series Masquerades – contemporary myths between fear, ritual and collective memory.