A KALTBLUT exclusive. East club is a project about individuality. Photography by Donatas Damarodas. Model is Akvile Zakarauskaite. Make up by Juste Vaskeviciute using Jeffree Star cosmetics, Lime Crime, SLA cosmetics, Inglot cosmetics. Styled by Bernadeta Ugne Balbier using H&M studio, Urte x Kotryna SSTKMS, Monton.
“I’m from Lithuania and my country was ocuppied by the Soviets in the past. We can feel now that there’s like a “heritage” left in our country, but that heritage is like people’s closiness, the fashion taste and tolerance, it was very low, now it’s going into the right direction, but of course some times it shows at some points. However it was people, most of them were young, teens or in early adulthood, they tried to take some inspirations how to be more stylish or how to have a better taste in music and of course they wanted and they created music bands. But all the popular music that was in europe or rock music and more was illegal. And they started to create their music style, tried to take some inspiration by somehow, that means, from the people who were wealth enough to travel getting mixtapes or vinils from western europe, but most of these things were kind of illegal and limited to have it here. Most of the time all things like, listening to european music and just talking about prohibited themes everything happend in more closed places like clubs or private groups.
This story inspired me to do this project. And showing you how they tried to look for their individulity. The hat and the black clothes simbolizes undiscoverd and forbidden things. But most of the people became scared of this and went again to the old “life/style” that linked to be more closed and their personalities were broken inside a lot of things stayed underneath their skin. In this project Fur simbolizes “The Skin” were we stay and can’t show nothing else but just the things by the rules.” *Donatas Damarodas
Photography by Donatas Damarodas / www.damarodas.com / Instagram: @damarodasph
Model is Akvile Zakarauskaite / Instagram: @akvileza
Make up by Juste Vaskeviciute / Instagram: @vasketeria
Styled by Bernadeta Ugne Balbier / Instagram: @hauteria
Photographer’s assistant is Juozas Miravinskas / Instagram: @miravinskas_juozas
Fashion brands: H&M studio, Urte x Kotryna SSTKMS, Monton
Make up brands: Jeffree Star cosmetics, Lime Crime, SLA cosmetics, Inglot cosmetics
“My name is Donatas Damarodas. I was born in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Moved to Vilnius when I was 20 years old, but after one year went to Brussels for a half a year where I got so much inspiration from the different background that I wasn’t use to it, more open and I can say a bit friendlier. But enough about these things and lets get a bit artsy so I think i’m more an artist than just a photographer or maybe i’m just a thinker who’s into overthinking or likely just a human, ‘cause for me the image creation usually doesn’t stop after pressing the button is just a beginning. The creation of the portrait or a scene had to be balanced with all the surroundings or the lights with the person that i’m shooting.
For me it’s very important that the model is into the idea too or the whole team. From one perspective the person that i’m shooting is like just a subject or a detail in the photo, but that’s harsh to me, because the person or the reflection is the most important to me. Even when i’m shooting anonymous portraits without showing their faces you can feel the presence of the realness, i like to take time and to know the person that i’m going to photograph. For me all the world, like all the surroundings are inspirational, all the feelings that i have or the dreams that I don’t remember anymore. And of course so many people don’t know that they’re inspiring others. If you’re brave enough you can see colors in black and white photograph.”
