Celestial Goddess

Celestial Goddess Kataya by Nela Dunato

Dual Solar-Lunar goddess fantasy photo-manipulation modeled by the Slovenian pop star Kataya.

This is one of the results of a celebrity photo shoot I did at the seminar Fotosofia 12. That day was the first time I collaborated with a team of other artists (make-up, hair, styling etc.) and it was so much fun!

I came to the photo shoot with a completely different idea, but it wasn’t viable so we had to improvise on the spot. After seeing my digital art, the Slovenian singer Kataya said she’d love to model as a Lunar Goddess. Coincidentally, she already had golden make-up on from the previous session, and the make-up artist suggested that instead removing all of it, we leave a part of her face golden. I said that was a great idea, because I could make one half the Sun, and the other half the Moon. The stylist had a dress on hand that we managed to fasten with safety pins—although the clothes may look collaged, the original model photo was actually from one take.

Since we had a very short deadline to turn in the final artwork, I decided to forgo my usual painting approach and used some NASA stock photography instead.

Model: Kataya
Photo & retouching: Nela Dunato
MUA: Kristina Kobrehel
Wardrobe & styling: Lea Behek
Sun & Moon photography: NASA
Fotosofia 12