JULIA
Julia Yaroshenko
by David Bellemere
for MARLEY
Julia Yaroshenko on her Fine Art Nude Book JULIA with David Bellemere
(Interview)
Some books are photographed. This one was lived. Over more than a month and across three of the world's most beautiful shores — Thailand, Indonesia and the Seychelles — Julia Yaroshenko and photographer David Bellemere set out to create something rare: not a series of pictures, but a single, uninterrupted portrait of a woman entirely at ease with herself. The result, Julia, is a 336-page hardcover coffee-table book that feels less like a photo book and more like a place you can return to — sunlight on skin, salt in the air, the quiet confidence of someone who has nothing left to hide.
What makes it remarkable is the trust at its center. Julia Yaroshenko, an artist who usually guards every frame of her own image, chose to place herself completely in David Bellemere's hands, and in doing so discovered a version of herself she had never met. We spoke with her about surrender and freedom, about staying true to a vision across the project and continents, and about what it feels like to finally see yourself.
Sacha Leyendecker
MARLEY Magazine: Julia feels intensely personal, almost like a self-portrait told through someone else's lens. How would you introduce this book to a reader who is meeting you for the first time?
Julia Yaroshenko: I’ve been working as a model for over a decade, and I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with some of the best photographers in the world. Throughout my career, I surrendered to the photographer’s vision and allowed myself to be shaped and guided by it. Yet I always felt there was something more I longed to express through my body, my presence, and the evolution of my inner world.
I wanted to be truly seen for who I am—without masks, without performance, without playing any role. Simply as I am: raw, authentic, and unpolished in my feminine nature. I wanted to express my femininity boldly and completely, free from the limitations of social conditioning and expectations.
For all those years, I was waiting to meet the one person who could look beyond the surface—the one who could gently reveal my essence.
The moment I met David Bellemere, I knew he was the one. I felt that he was the very photographer who could see the raw, untamed feminine spirit within me.
MARLEY Magazine: You've travelled the whole world and stood before countless cameras. When did you realize that a project like this is missing in your life and what was your inspiration for it?
Julia Yaroshenko: I had been envisioning this project for about eight or nine years. When I started working as a model and had a constant flow of countless photographs, I quickly realized that I wanted to create something extraordinary.
I knew I wanted to create something bigger than just a series of photographs. I wanted to create a work that could last for years—something timeless, something people could come back to again and again.
When I first mentioned to a few friends that I was going to create a book, many of them told me, “Why don’t you simply collect the photographs you already have? You have so many images from your career.”
But for me, that was never the point. I didn’t want to create a collection of photographs. I wanted to create a unified work—a single expression, a single story, a coherent artistic journey.
That’s why it was important for me to work with one photographer. I wanted the book to carry one vision, one energy, and one conversation throughout its pages.
At the same time, I wanted to create something beyond the conditioning of social media. Beyond what is considered likable, beyond what performs well, beyond what is censored or shaped by algorithms. I wanted to return to something more essential and timeless.
MARLEY Magazine: Shooting nude in nature means weather, light and tides decide a lot for you. How much was planned, and how much did you simply surrender to the moment?
Julia Yaroshenko: That’s a very interesting question, and I can tell it comes from a photographer, because you know exactly what you’re talking about.
Yes, nature has its own rhythm and its own will. In a way, you have to surrender to it rather than trying to control it. Sometimes it welcomes you, and sometimes it doesn’t.
Because of that, almost nothing was actually planned. We mainly planned the time we envisioned to start, but once we arrived, we surrendered to whatever the moment offered us.
We worked with what nature allowed us to create in each moment. Rather than forcing an image, we surrendered to the beauty of what was already there. Everything in the book is real. Each photograph is an expression of a specific moment that wasn’t pre planned and could never be repeated in exactly the same way.
In truth, very little was predetermined. The book was guided by the circumstances, by nature, and by our willingness to trust the process. Looking back, it feels as though we were simply following what the universe was presenting to us, moment by moment, and allowing it to unfold naturally.
MARLEY Magazine: Which shoot challenged you the most, physically or emotionally?
Julia Yaroshenko: I can’t say that I felt challenged, either physically or emotionally, because I was prepared for whatever the project required I was willing to embrace any difficulty, discomfort, or unexpected condition that came along the way.
In reality, this wasn’t unique to this project—it has always been my approach to every photoshoot.
Throughout my career, I have worked in some very challenging conditions: standing beneath freezing waterfalls, immersed in icy rivers and lakes, shooting nude on busy city streets where every second mattered, posing topless on crowded beaches surrounded by hundreds of people and many more.
Over the years, these experiences taught me to adapt, to stay present, and to remain fully committed regardless of the circumstances. They shaped my resilience and prepared me for every challenge that followed.
By the time David Bellemere and I began working together, this mindset had already become second nature. No matter the conditions, my focus has always been the same: to give myself completely to the creative process.
MARLEY Magazine: Can you walk us through the making of a single image you love — where it was, what the day felt like, what was happening just outside the frame?
Julia Yaroshenko: It’s difficult to choose just one, as I have many favorite photographs in the book, and each of them has its own special story behind it. But if I had to pick one, it would be the cover image.
We created this photograph in Bali. At the time, we were staying in a beautiful, large villa right on the beach, facing the ocean. The villa had a traditional Indonesian character, with old-style architecture, sculptures, and many unique decorative details.
What made this place especially magical was that we could watch the sunset directly from the villa. It was completely open to the ocean, and the evening light was absolutely incredible.
In the photograph, I’m sitting on a sofa facing the ocean. I remember feeling deeply relaxed, joyful, and happy. I have a special connection to that particular beach because I lived there for an entire year. It holds many memories for me and has a very special place in my heart.
Perhaps that is why the image feels so natural and peaceful. Everything around me was familiar. I had watched the sunset from that beach countless times before, and in that moment, I truly felt at home. The whole atmosphere was filled with warmth, comfort, and a sense of belonging.
MARLEY Magazine: To reveal yourself completely, without make-up, being naked in every moment — how do these moments of total openness truly feel for you?
Julia Yaroshenko: It felt like finally being in my element.
There were no masks, no attempts to enhance or hide anything, no effort to create a particular look. Everything was simply as it was. It felt deeply relaxing not to have to try to be anything other than myself.
But I don’t think I could have opened myself so deeply with just anyone. To reveal myself completely, both physically and emotionally, requires a great deal of trust and surrender.
What I felt with David Bellemere was a deep connection and a profound sense of safety. I trusted him completely, which allowed me to be fully myself in front of the camera. I felt accepted, supported, and honored exactly as I was. That made the entire process feel effortless. He created a space where I could simply be—without performing, pretending, or protecting anything.
MARLEY Magazine: Has The Julia changed the way you look at yourself in the mirror today?
Julia Yaroshenko: I don’t separate the Julia in the book from who I am today.
The book captured a moment in my life, but it doesn’t feel like a different version of me. Rather, it feels as though someone was witnessing and documenting a very authentic part of who I am.
What is shown in the book is not a character or a performance. In many ways, it reflects how I am in my everyday life—my connection to nature, my simplicity, my sensitivity, and the way I experience the world.
MARLEY Magazine: This is a 336-page hardcover, large-format, limited edition coffee-table book — a real object with weight in your hands. Why was it important to you that this exists as a physical book rather than only online?
Julia Yaroshenko: This book is not available in digital format.
For me, it was very important that it existed as a physical object. I wanted people to experience photography differently. Today, we are so conditioned to consume images through social media, scrolling quickly from one photo to the next without giving them our full attention.
But to truly understand what a photograph is saying, you need time. You need to sit down, slow down, and give it your complete presence.
I didn’t want these images to become just another fleeting moment in an endless feed. I wanted to give them a lasting form and create a deeper experience around them.
Since the book was released, I have received countless messages and emails from people sharing the impact it had on them. For me, this has been a beautiful confirmation that the experience works. Many people tell me that the book puts them into a meditative state, slows them down, and helps them appreciate the moment more deeply.
There is already an endless amount of content online that we can scroll through whenever we are bored. What I wanted to create was something different: a space for contemplation, a deeper appreciation of photography, and even a small ritual around the act of viewing images.
In a way, the book is not only about photography. It is also about attention, presence, and the art of truly seeing.
MARLEY Magazine: Do you remember the very first time you held the printed book, opened it, turned its pages? What went through your mind in that moment?
Julia Yaroshenko: Yes, of course, I remember that moment very clearly.
We received the books just one day before the exhibition. When they arrived at the venue, I was with a close friend of mine, Davide Swarup, a famous handpan musician whom I had invited from India to perform at the event. We shared the special moment of opening the very first copy together.
When I opened the box, I was completely overwhelmed. Until that moment, I hadn’t fully realized what it would feel like to hold the book in my hands.
You can read the specifications—the weight, the dimensions, the number of pages—but none of that prepares you for the actual experience. Only when you hold it do you realize: “Wow, this is real. This is something substantial.” The book has a presence of its own. It almost speaks for itself.
It was a very emotional and sensitive moment for me. Holding the finished book felt like holding the result of an entire year of work—sleepless nights, challenges, doubts, excitement, beautiful moments, and difficult ones. When you finally hold the result of all that effort in your hands, it is a tremendous feeling.
In that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I felt that the universe had allowed this project to come into existence and had guided me through every step of the journey.
I was only one part of a much larger journey. So many people contributed their talent, energy, trust, and support to make this project possible. I feel grateful to every one of them and honored to have shared this path with them.
That gratitude also extends to every person who receives a copy of the book. Each reader becomes part of its story. For me, there is something deeply intimate about that connection between the creator and the viewer. Every copy that finds its way into someone’s hands creates a small bridge between our worlds, and I carry that connection deeply in my heart.
MARLEY Magazine: Seeing your images as large-format fine-art prints at the vernissage, surrounded by guests responding to them — what did that moment feel like, and what stayed with you from the way people reacted?
Julia Yaroshenko: It is actually a little sad that only a limited number of people had the opportunity to attend the vernissage and experience the exhibition in person, because it was truly beyond anything I can describe with words.
As I mentioned before, I had seen these photographs countless times during the selection process. We spent a long time choosing the final images, so I knew every detail of them by heart. But when I saw them printed on a massive scale, it was a completely different experience.
I was there when the large prints were delivered. I helped unpack them and watched them being installed on the walls. I still remember the feeling. Every time a new print was revealed, it brought a wave of emotion. Seeing these images at such a monumental size was breathtaking.
In many ways, this also relates to the reason why I chose to create a physical book. There is simply no comparison between seeing an image on a phone screen and standing in front of a print that is two meters high. It becomes an entirely different experience. The photograph gains a presence, an energy, and an emotional impact that cannot be translated digitally.
I am deeply grateful that we were able to create this part of the project—the large-format exhibition. Some of the prints now hang in my own apartment, and I still feel their presence every day. They transform the atmosphere of a space and bring a unique sense of beauty and emotion into it.
One of the prints has already found a home in the United States, and several large-format prints are still available for collectors. If someone feels a connection to the work and would like to learn more, they are welcome to contact me personally [or get in touch with us at MARLEY via the contact form below].
NEW BOOK
JULIA YAROSHENKO & DAVID BELLEMERE
JULIA
Original price was: 299,00 €.135,00 €Current price is: 135,00 €.
This new book from David Bellemere and Julia Yaroshenko is a must for every bookshelf.
Some books are photographed.
This one was lived.
Over more than a month and across three of the world's most beautiful shores — Thailand, Indonesia and the Seychelles — Julia Yaroshenko and photographer David Bellemere set out to create something rare: not a series of pictures, but a single, uninterrupted portrait of a woman entirely at ease with herself.
The result, Julia, is a 336-page hardcover coffee-tablebook that feels less like a photo book and more like a place you can return to — sunlight on skin, salt in the air, the quiet confidence of someone who has nothing left to hide.
Elevating the Art of the Coffee Table: The David Bellemere & Julia Yaroshenko Collaboration
In the world of high-end editorial photography, the intersection of landscape and muse creates a visual narrative that transcends the page. The latest release from the MARLEY Shop is a masterclass in this synergy: a limited-edition, 336-page hardcover coffee table book showcasing the ethereal collaboration between world-renowned photographer David Bellemere and supermodel Julia Yaroshenko. Captured against the breathtaking, sun-drenched backdrops of Thailand, Indonesia, and the Seychelles, this collection offers an intimate look at unseen, exclusive artistry. Designed for the discerning collector, this premium fine art volume is more than a book; it is a tactile experience of contemporary aesthetics, elevating any interior space with its sophisticated, limited-run allure.
FAQ
Who is Julia Yaroshenko?
Julia Yaroshenko is a Ukrainian freelance travelling model and a dynamic force in the world of modeling and internet influence. In the world of modeling, few figures captivate as effortlessly as Julia Yaroshenko. With her distinct and unforgettable look, Julia stands as a testament to what it means to redefine beauty standards in the industry. A seasoned traveler, she has graced landscapes and studios across the globe, infusing every frame with her indomitable spirit and presence.
Who photographed Julia?
All photos have been created by David Bellemere. He is regarded as a leading authority in the world of photography, a true visionary whose lens captures more than just images, it captures emotions, stories, and the subtle interplay of light and shadow. Known for his extraordinary ability to blend natural beauty with a touch of sensuality, David’s work is a tribute to artistic finesse and elegance. His distinctive photographic approach, characterized by a gentle, ethereal quality, has earned him a prestigious place in the worlds of high-end fashion and art. Throughout his photographic career, Bellemere has collaborated with some of the world’s most renowned brands and publications, including Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire.
Where was the book photographed?
All the photos in the book were taken at the most beautiful and breathtaking locations in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Seychelles.
How many pages?
The book is a large hardcover book with 300 x 292 mm and 336 pages.
How much does it cost?
The original price is 299 Euro, but here with MARLEY you can bring it home to your coffee-table book for 135 Euro.
PRINTS WANTED?
Are you looking for high class prints with Julia Yaroshenko photographed by David Bellemere?
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