Bow Down to A Goddess

The thing is, I’m okay with winning but I freaking hate losing. It’s in my nature. I mean like, losing is for losers, that’s in my mindset. I know that’s not actually true at all, since at times we just lose. However, in the end of the day, both winning and losing teaches us lessons.

I chose the “Greek Goddess” theme because I’ve always found the power and the divine figures are just a huge inspiration. The way they are portrayed with a background, their flaws, their beauty, and just everything going on with them. It’s mesmerizing to me. I just found greek gods and goddesses to be wonderful characters that can be implemented artistically beautifully. Let’s face it, countless artists have preserved art to celebrate their beauty, one of the artworks that I love wholeheartedly would be “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli.

So, I made quite of an unorthodox choice here, and that is to shoot only the female characters from greek mythology. Since I knew from the start I’m only shooting a woman, I wanted to make sure that I have her perfectly portray what she can portray best, the females, the goddesses. After a lot of brainstorming and outfit-and-scene-matching, I came up with 10 characters to shoot(originally 12 but we ran out of time). They are:

Persephone

Aphrodite

Demeter

Pandora

Artemis

Athena

Hestia

Hera

Gaia

Nyx

I met Diana Filip, a russian student who was doing internship in my city(quite of an odd choice there) as a teacher randomly on instagram. I quickly DM-ed her on instagram and we planned for a shoot on her last week in Surabaya. Having her around was an amazing experience. She’s one of the friendliest people I’ve ever known(judging from the fact we only hung out for like 5 days).

The idea Goddess came along with the fact that I’ve never shot a blonde before legit-ly and I thought it would be awesome to embrace all of those qualities with her divine-structure. Just what I need, the perfect portion of a Goddess.

The shoot all fell to the perfect places as my mom’s exquisite haute couture brand, Diana Couture, joins the shoot. Just the thought of those dresses sends chills down my spine, they are just, fantabulous in all the right places. One second It feels so couture, the second they feel so sensual, the third they can be so dramatic. All in the same time. I only planned 6 Goddesses in the beginning, but since all the dresses look so damn good on Diana, we planned 12 instead.

Along Diana Couture, I recruited my talented aunt and uncle I’ve never mentioned before from Baroqco Jewelry. They’re a haute couture brand specializing in exquisite one-of-a-kind jewelry. From the most elegant pieces to the most bad-ass looks, they all fit the shoot so well. After all the drapes and the bling, I recruited Surabaya’s top make up artist/hairstylist, Jimmy Himawan. He is a pleasure to work with, even though the booking was last minute, he joined the shoot and I just can’t be happier with all of these people in the shoot. This is by far one of my strongest teams, ever.

The thing is, I usually do these kind of shoots on the end of the year, but just the thought of breaking the rules, and shooting something just sparks so much joy and light and delivering them through my sort of style, it’s just all worth it. Now, let’s get down to the artistic dissection.

1.Demeter

Goddess of fertility, mother to Persephone. A broken hearted goddess as her daughter was kidnapped and raped to the underworld. Draped in all green and lime, with a fertile backdrop as she nourishes her grasses. Hooded in the divine portrayal, she wishes of the return of her one and only daughter. In wrath to the sirens, she pours down all the water to feed her greens. This all also portrays a goodbye of the soon-to-be-fall-then-winter imagery.

I decided to embrace the womanly features from the leg. I find so much meanings and messages behind just a slit dress with a leg shown. There’s this sort of, elegance in an ethereal level that embraces the strong female she is. To withstand all the heartache, just the whole feminism sort of feeling. The equality many demand today, the idea of “boss” just, pops out on my mind through this. She may be womanly with her plant-watering posture, but she does it strongly with a divine, strong attitude

2.Aphrodite

Goddess of Love, we’ve heard it all. From Botticelli’s Venus to pop culture references, this Goddess right here is one of the most popular ones. All dressed up in blue hues with a dragon/seahorse embroidery dress with all might, and armored up with a beautiful, electric blue headpiece. She curves up and allures sensually without needing to open up too much skin. The see-through, the pearls, the seashells, it’s all about bringing the divine imagery and the sexy to a boss-level.

With a sculptural nose and just so much going on in the picture. There’s a power of sensuality that is just so beautiful here. The original Aphrodite may have long brunette hair and is in a nude form, but this one still screams Aphrodite. With all the seashells going on, with the jewels, and the aura of the mermaid-like creature popping out from all the marine-esque colors, here I present you, APHRODITE.

3.Persephone

Goddess, a symbol of the return of Spring. Daughter to Demeter. She was kidnapped to the underworld and had to marry Hades, the God of the Underworld. Because she ate pomegranate seeds, she doesn’t have to stay there all year long. Whereas the times she isn’t in the underworld symbolizes the cold winter. Tangled up in spring colors, with divine jewels and a trace of silver, she embodies the heartache the pastels present. The loss of Spring, moreover, her absence from the nature, represented by the browning of the leaves. Reaching for the light with all the finest jewels light can reflect.

A headpiece made of the finest gifts from springs she can remember, as the sun slightly peers in, waving a sad goodbye as she announces her return to the underworld. This ritual has formed a cycle men have to overcome. The cold, sad winter where no crops grow, or where no greens, or lavenders bloom. Where food is short, and where the days are cold. The days where spring is lost to the underworld, as days are being counted down for the arrival of Spring.

4.Pandora

She may not be a Goddess, but she is the first mortal woman. Sent by Zeus to earth with a box of evils, as a revenge to Prometheus bringing fire back to the world, as she releases all the evil, letting hope to be a safe haven. The curious fellow with a heart of lace, the stencil to cause the disaster, as Zeus used this maiden as a tool. Dressed in all white with a curious mind, a messy hair, and a crown of jewels.

A box of black, to deliver evil for the mortal. A messenger of the Gods as a mortal. The very first woman. Pandora and her box. Swinging upon the beautiful nature, slowly exposing the evils of the world to the fire Prometheus granted to the world. To have it destroyed, to have it once again stained as a punishment. With the fire pouring down the earth, the evil slowly escapes the crocodile-skin black box.

5.Gaia

The earth personified as a goddess. Wife of Uranus (Heaven). Pretty much mother of all mothers. Mother Earth, Mother Nature, the divine creature in a semi-slumber above earth’s strongest roots. Laying down with all might, as she witnesses the nature blooming beautifully, the way the floral-like structure glazes through her dresses, with an exquisite wooden carving hung on her head like a bonnet.

She is the nature and the nature is her. She is the earth and the earth is her. A maternal figure, a companion giving life to zillions. Red, the color of her lips, pops a paternal feeling right out of her in a whole new level. When skies are blue, she awakes and witnesses the day with a smile representing the earth’s might and wonders.

6.Hera

A powerful goddess, wife and sister of Zeus. The queen of heaven and the marriage goddess. She awaits love and compassion in marriage from the balconies up above the heavens. She awaits and lingers onto a pillar. Blonde ambition doesn’t seem to be the right word for it, a divine portrayal seems to be the right one.

Lace and see-throughs, wedding veils and a melancholic look. She maybe strong, but she seems to be misunderstood. She is stronger than her own might. In all white, she awaits the peacock. In all white, she replays the scenes of walking down the altar, awaiting the groom. Like the color cream scattered around her, her strength never seems to lose it’s hue.

7. Athena

Goddess of Wisdom, Handicrafts, and Warfare. One of the Olympian Goddesses. A warrior at heart. A beautiful, strong maiden physically. Here we witness the portrayal of Athena and the horse. The patron goddess of Athens. “She is often allegorized into a personification of wisdom”. She sits upon her throne, warfare itself. Her warrior heart and the soul of the wild horse.

A feather bonnet as a symbol of true wisdom. A drapery beautifully stitched with the might of the metallic studs and bling glamorizing her up in the best warfare attire. She is ready for war, she is ready to conquer with her gladiator shoes. The one with straps on, contrasting her dress. Along with a sword liquefying itself to the very top of the skies. Upon the garden of Athens, she departs to war. Feminist, war craft being led by women who have more authority and wisdom compared to men.

8.Hestia

Goddess of Wrath. Gives comfort to the ones with no home. A perfect guardian angels to the old-time gypsy, and the new age caravan hipsters. With a torch guiding with warmth. Symbolizing comfort and compassion. Hope and passion. Fire – all of it’s might, it’s sensuality, it’s warmth, it’s love, it’s disastrous purposes. It’s might to destroy or to save. The warmth we human kind can never live without. The alternative sun in the middle of the night.

Draped with the most exquisite embroidery. As the red lines overlap to portray the warmth of the color red. To embrace the soul inside the new age Hestia. The one with confidence and a warm heart. Maybe one of those pop stars. In matching shoes. All jeweled up in the finest rubies. It all comes down to one thing, the way all the glam, the warmth, and the passion can just allure one into feeling better for all the things one can’t have. Comforting in it’s most odd delicacies.

9.Artemis

Goddess. A Huntress. Daughter of Zeus. Portrayed typically with bows and arrows. Have special connections with the crescent moon and deers. The perfect athletic/sporty type on the particular mythology. The Shapavora, perhaps, of the myth. The female figure fond of hunts, the athlete running through the dark woods in the particular crescent moon night with her deer friends.

Gold as an unusual solvent, as a trademark depicted here. In a huntress/warrior like figure, her figure shapes down the perfect imagery of the strong woman. The feminist. The female who is able to move and hunt, and survive like the stereotype obtained by strong men. A golden braid, a golden bow, a golden dress, and a pair of golden heels. A golden huntress. A golden depiction in the middle of the night attacking the ones against her. Hunting through the night with her deers.

10.Nyx

Goddess. In particular the female personification of the night. Moreover, a connotation to the dark of the night. The divine factor the night just embraces underneath the moonlight. The unexplainable, tingling factor the mist of the night blows in with it’s spiritual winds. The creatures roaming at night. The sensuality of the night. The glam of the night. The religious aspect of it. The pitch black factor it particularly posseses.

In Marilyn curls with a cross, and a violet opal jewelry popping upon the embroidery roaming through the dark of the night. The liquefied pillars representing the light giving the dark another layer to perceive. The distortion happening in the night. The factor it just pops for, pops through, and pops just half as much as it does in the daytime. The divine figure the night gives, so enchantingly. So ethereal.

Here…Unions, I present you, one of my best portfolios up to today. Bow Down to a Goddess. A collection of images representing the women strength from every single aspect. Huntress. Beauty. Sensuality. Wisdom. Maternal Love. Everything to withstand there mysterious, sensitive characteristics. The divine characters possessed by the society these days many never truly see. A portfolio representing these Goddesses. The Queens who withstand the love they think….they deserve

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SENSE

Bow Down to a Goddess

Photographed by Reinhardt Kenneth

Wardrobe: Diana Couture

Jewelry: Baroqco Jewelry

Hair/Make Up Artist. Jimmy Himawan

Model. Diana Filip

Stylist. Ninik @ Diana Couture

Props/Backstage. Dawi