Cristian Păduraru

07/10/2023

Continuing the series on reflections, distortions and colors.

: Daria Batschi
: Simona Semen
: Mariana Stan

01/09/2023

This project explores how reflections, distortions, and colors can serve as tools for self-expression.🔍✨

Reflections suggest the dualities that exist within each of us — how we see the world and how the world sees us. Distortions remind us that nothing is as it seems at first glance, and that there are always multiple perspectives from which to view reality. Colors, in all their glory, represent the variety of emotions, beliefs, and visions that make up our identity. 🎭

Photography is not just an artistic medium, but also a form of activism and a method to combat conformity and oppression.

Model: Daria Batschi
Stylist: Simona Semen
Dress: Mariana Stan

26/08/2023

More often than not, this picture 🖼️ has been titled the queen of the exhibition 👑 because, I believe, it encapsulates the entire project. It also has the strongest message of them all.

💬 From what you've seen so far, what do you think? Does it deserve the queen status?

19/08/2023

Along my transformative journey, the signs that my choice was inevitable became more and more evident. Growing up in an environment with strict rules, I rebelled against conformity and the attempts to limit my freedom and identity. In this inner revolt, I found the right vocabulary to express the feelings that were stirring in my soul.

In contrast to the military system in which I was formed, where conformity is the rule, in the world of art I discovered the freedom to challenge and reveal.

I chose to dedicate myself to this theme in a moment of revelation and transformation, because I wanted to sustain this inner revolution.

Model: Eduard Pleștiu
Make-up & Hair: Laura Perian
Styling: Simona Semen
Rigging: Amar Pas

05/08/2023

In 2019, I discovered photography 📷 and began using it as a form of expression. I used the art of photography as a tool of communication, to convey my messages. It offered me a channel through which to address the world in a direct, unaltered way.

The discovery of my passion for photography coincided with a transformation of my vision of the world and of myself. Through a process of introspection, I began to develop the concept of fluid expression ✨ and I realized that it reflects my inner experiences the best. Although at that time I did not know how to articulate this concept verbally, I realized that I do not have to conform to the stereotypes imposed by society, but I can express my identity freely. This was a moment of relief accompanied by a sense of freedom.

It is believed that the universe helps you to find what you are looking for. It helped me to discover the work of Judith Butler, "Gender Trouble" and "Giving an Account of Oneself", books that reflected my own beliefs that I was trying to develop isolated, in a world of confusion. Gender, like a play, was unfolded as a social construction, which was in constant change, rather than a static and immutable thing. 🎭

These discoveries opened up a universe of possibilities in my mind, inspired me and offered me a tool for analyzing my own experience, as well as the society in which I found myself. I began to realize that, through photography, I can dress these ideas in a visual garment, one that can be more easily understood and assimilated by others.

Butler, in essence, put into words the beliefs that I had formed, but which I could not express coherently. She offered me a language to describe the world as I saw it - a world where identities are fluid and bathe in a dynamic spectrum, not fitting into rigid patterns. Gender, as she sees it, is born and reinvented in a dance of repetitive behaviors and rituals. 💃

In the light of this idea, I realized that my photographs not only document reality, but also contribute to its creation. 🎨

Model: Eduard Pleștiu
Make-up & Hair: Laura Perian
Styling: Simona Semen
Rigging: Amar Pas

29/07/2023

I grew up in a restrictive environment, dominated by a society that imposed dogmas and beliefs that constrained my spiritual drive, blocking the aspirations for an authentic and free self-representation.

Inoculated with imperatives from "finish what's on your plate" and "do your homework" to "you have to become a doctor" and "God is the way", I was trained to embrace rules and ideologies that stifled individuality and supported conformity. How possible was it to avoid these constraints and stops, growing up in an era when communist ideologies were still considered social norms?

There was a time when freedom seemed to me an unfulfilled ideal, a beautiful but inaccessible dream. In that time, without the freedom to express myself and to be who I really wanted to be, what hopes did I have left? I was forced to wear a mask, to submit to the societal rules that were dictated to me, rules that I did not choose and that did not fit me. Thus, I tasted the bitterness of oppression and restrictions, feeling trapped in a labyrinth from which I saw no way out.

However, as any soul, I needed a refuge, a space where I could exist without fear and oppression. For me, this sanctuary was in books. I read philosophy, psychology, sociology, religion, but also fiction works which transported me to fictional worlds, away from my reality. In these universes, I could live, at least for a moment, without fear and oppression.

In the end, books offered me more than a shelter - they opened a new perspective on life for me. I came to realize that religion, which I had considered until then a beacon in my life, was, in fact, one of the coercive systems that constrained my expression. This awareness alienated me from what I had long considered an essential part of my identity.

I became an atheist, adopted a vegan lifestyle and, simultaneously, became actively involved in the fight for the rights of human and non-human beings. I dream of a society with equal rights and respect for all forms of life. Environmentalism and animal rights are two of my core principles and I constantly try to encourage the world to view nature and the beings that surround us with more love and respect.

Model: Eduard Pleștiu
Make-up & Hair: Laura Perian
Styling: Simona Semen
Rigging: Amar Pas

22/07/2023

"Oops, VOGUE! 😏" I've always wanted to say this, but it's too bold, too arrogant. During my master's years, I've witnessed what greatness actually is in the photographic art domain, and it has been a humbling experience.

It has taught me that achievements mean nothing if they are void of meaning. What actually matters is to work to make the world a better place, to have a greater motivation, a motivation that goes beyond one's self. 💪🌍

This recently gained experience doesn't nullify the fact that part of my master's project has been recognized and published on the online platform of Vogue Italia. It actually gives me a sense that my efforts didn't go unnoticed. ✨

I've been working on this project for almost a year, and it's been a journey of self-discovery. 🚀💫

Identity is a complex thing. It's made up of so many different parts, like our gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and more. But it's also more than just those things. It's also about how we see ourselves and how we want to be seen by others. 🌟

I've explored how we can express our identities through our appearance. We can choose the clothes we wear, the makeup we put on, and the hairstyles we style. These choices can all say something about who we are and how we want to be seen.

Identity is a journey, and it's one that we're all on. There's no one right way to be, and it's okay to change and grow as we learn more about ourselves.

💬 Have you ever been picked on because of expressing who you want to be? How did that make you feel? How did you handle it? Share your thoughts!

Model: Eduard Pleștiu
Make-up & Hair: Laura Perian
Styling: Simona Semen

20/07/2023

16/07/2023

12/07/2023

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Model: Carmina Cotfas
Makeup: Laura Perian
Hairstyle: Cera Mihăilescu
Fashion: Mary Sten, IE Clothing
Styling: Alin Gălățescu






📸 📷

11/07/2023

Model: Carmina Cotfas
Makeup: Laura Perian
Hairstyle: Cera Mihăilescu
Fashion: Mary Sten
Styling: Alin Gălățescu






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