Before Bewitched
Kristina Shakht is a New York-based artist, photographer, and creative director, originally from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. She works mainly in the fashion and fine art photography scene, developing themes as femininity, the female gaze, body, and identity.
With this story, Kristina decided to research the female body, driving away from the sexualized presentation towards exploration. The project is a never-released test set with a fellow photographer and, in this instance, a model, Natalie Kogan. The shoot came as a test before the story Bewitched published in WÜL Magazine. “I think it took me some time to appreciate this shoot and all the images because at first, I thought it was too simple and didn’t want to show it,” Kristina shares with us.
While in Bewitched, the theme of a nymph-like, fairy tale character based on Slavic mythology is explored and emphasized; this shoot comes as a much-needed initial step to understand the female body and the possibility of showing it from a different angle. The main idea, to depict a strong character via her body, was a challenging one as the goal was to present it in a non-sexualized way. The familiar set, Natalie’s apartment, and the echo to an ordinary day in the life of, allow to strip the unwanted effect of a nude shoot and bring forward a self-sufficient character. In this conversation with Kristina, we speak about the preparation for the shoot, the inspiration from Russian fairy tales, and the test that led to creating Bewitched.
‘I think that’s the main vibe I wanted to have: relaxed shots of body, non-sexualized, non-oiled, just a regular set up in familiar space.’
Hi Kristina, nice to have you back with a new project. Tell about the concept for this work and what initiated it?
I was capturing a friend who is a photographer herself — Natalie Kogan. It honestly was my first nude shoot ever with a model that we did back in December 2020. I wanted to learn how to show the body without sexualizing it and asked Natalie to do a test with me, and she was happy to help.
Who is the main character you chose for this work? How do you think the experience of the images might be different for the viewer compared to the emotions you and the model worked to create on set?
It’s funny because we were laughing, drinking coffee, and eating breakfast during breaks. So it didn’t feel like something serious or specifically important, and I think that’s the main vibe I wanted to have: relaxed shots of body, non-sexualized, non-oiled, just a regular set up in familiar space (her home). My work is never shot in the studio, but I’m able to get this intimate connection with space even if the viewer sees only a white wall as a background.
‘I think we need to use cross-cultural symbols to talk about things such as feminism, liberation, and sisterhood.’
The solitude and the experience of the self, of one’s body, in the chosen space of the apartment, is emphasized with the black and white images and the grey, silent shades. What were some of the directions you had during the shooting day? What did you discuss with the model prior to it?
We honestly didn’t discuss the direction much. I think I had a couple of images as references, and of course, we talked about how naked Natalie would be ready to go. It was a test shoot before Bewitched, and she knew about it. I asked her for help because I felt that as we are both photographers, we could bounce ideas off each other and feel comfortable. She’s honestly a great model with a very nice raw look, and I just wanted to capture it.
This was one of the first shoots when I started exploring the same theme from different angles. I find a lot of inspiration in Russian and Slavic fairy tales and mythology, in female creatures. There is a big footprint of our civilization in fairy tales. It’s mostly dark and shows how we evolved as a society from becoming aware of existing to building complex intergroup connections. In the twenty-first century, we are far beyond fairy tales about the human desire to get out of savagery, and I think we need to use cross-cultural symbols to talk about things such as feminism, liberation, and sisterhood. So in a way, I was testing waters with this specific shoot with Natalie to create Bewitched.
‘I think it took me some time to appreciate this shoot and all the images because at first, I thought it was too simple and didn’t want to show it.’
Which moment from this project is most precious to you?
I think it took me some time to appreciate this shoot and all the images because at first, I thought it was too simple and didn’t want to show it, but with time it grew on me more and more, and I think that’s precious.
