From a Club floor to Water Stage: MAKING OF A Techno Party Promo Shoot
Capturing pregnancy in an artistic light has intrigued me for a long time, I got my first taste of it far before it became mainstream “unconditional” idea in fashion and commercial photography. In 2013-2014 I had my first job as an assistant to a family photographer who specialised in shoots with children and expecting mothers, niche of photography which I never, actually, liked. I always was interested in more artsy stuff and that gig sparked all sorts of wild ideas, how would I do it otherwise. And, as life tends to do, everything fell into place when I least expected it. After fleeing Ukraine and settling in Berlin, on one of night outs I crossed paths with Ben and Mark, who were about to organise a techno party Pru Y Rvu. Ben and I instantly clicked over our shared creative visions, and during one of our conversations about the party promo photos, I randomly mentioned that I idea of capturing pregnancy in an interesting way. Without missing a second, Ben said, “Let’s do it”. Next thing I knew, he introduced me to Lena, an eight-month pregnant dancer. He casually took me to a dance class in his studio next door, and there she was—Lena, an eight-month pregnant dancer. She was perfect model for this project. Boom — our muse!
We had couple of different ideas, but the one with water felt like absolute fun to do. Lena, just two weeks away from her due date, was all in on this crazy idea we had. We ended up having her in cold water for almost four hours. Yup, four hours. Madness, but she was absolute all in for pool idea. And that’s where the adventure really kicked off — creating a floor filled with water, oh, and did I mention it was all happening in a dancing hall?
The week before the shoot was a whirlwind. We scoured for materials, built the set, ran tests, did fittings, handled about a million little things, and somehow roped in about 10 people to help. It felt like the team grew by accident, but perfectly so. Dayana, our stylist, randomly found our mood board and was hooked. The day before the shoot, I reached out to her, with a question about another project, I mentioned this one and she ended up joining the fun and even brought Didi, a makeup wizard, and Genevieve, a jewellery maker, along for the ride.
Shoot day? Absolute chaos (because of course!) it took six hours to fill the pool, and surprise — the building had no central heating. Our attempts to heat the water with kitchen boilers were laughable at best. Poor Lena braved the freezing water, with frequent breaks to thaw out. Meanwhile, Dayana and Didi waded into the pool repeatedly, fixing makeup and hair while towels everywhere turned into soggy heaps. But, somehow, through the mayhem and madness, it all came together. A little bit of chaos, a lot of fun, and some magic in between.
But, somehow, through the mayhem and madness, it all came together. A little bit of chaos, a lot of fun, and some magic in between.
Photography, set design by Kate Lutaya
Styling by Dayana Arrieta
HMUA by Didi
Fashion by Genevieve The Label
Assisted by Dmitriy S and Amit Levy
Production by SourceBerlin
Special thanks to Mark Schloms and Mary Stephan
For PRU Y RVU, Berlin 2023
