Dasha & Mari

DASHA & MARI are award-winning photographers, twin sisters from Kiev, Ukraine. Specialise in Fashion, Art Nude and Psychological Portrait.
They have an extensive experience in fashion industry in London, Paris, Milan and Berlin.
Art photography they create has a cinematic feel, it is original and storytelling.
HEARST Magazines UK have selected them for the Master's Photography program in Cambridge, UK.
Artists have received a Masters Degree from Kingston University, London, UK in 2018.

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How is it to live as a creative artist / photographer during the war? Do you see your profession differently?

It is quite complicated to work and develop as an artist in the period of war. It requires not only artistic skills, but we should consider various aspects of life.All the people whom we worked with before the war fled to other countries all over the world. Two of us also moved to Germany due to the war in Ukraine and we need to organise everything from the beginning. It means a new surrounding and new people, different approach in work and another mentality. We need to adapt to circumstances in order to continue our creative way in Art photography.

What inspires you - this is a common question, but we want to know, what gives you the energy to carry on with photography?

Well, when it comes to inspiration, there can be various things that influence our mood, internal self-condition and desire to create.
Among them, and probably the most important thing, is a human factor, people with similar way of thinking, professionals in their own field - such cooperation always brings fruitful results. We admire vintage things - clothes, accessories, films, fabrics…etc. We always pay attention to details, not only within the film frame when we create, but also in usual life. For example, it can be an unusual shape of a perfume bottle or even its deep scent, a reflection of the ancient architecture in the glowing surface of the lake…
Such little things may inspire big ideas. We like to play with material, with various fabrics and combine elements in a pattern of our desirable photography story, we feel the beauty and express it through our creative vision.

How do you see a photographer's role today versus influencers paid for their posts?

We believe that everyone should play the role that God intended for him in life.
We are artists, we create our works by feeling, with soul, and the modern rhythm of life - product promotion, advertising, PR, takes too much time and effort. A photographer in our understanding should be an artist, he should create pictures that you will admire and reflect on, something out of time, without fuss. This is how things are in our case. Influencers make money quickly, but it's like fast food, in demand, but not tasty.

How do you see the „body positive“ movement in fashion? Does it mean that the fashion model „era“ as it was in the 80es and 90es is over, or do you think people will always strive towards a „perfect“ appearance, or does the concept of it has no future?

Yes, the 21st century is changing the idea of beauty. As a commercial move, this is a very profitable model to sell, since most people are not perfect and have nothing to do with the modelling industry.However, the pursuit of excellence will never go out of style. The ideals of beauty of the 80s and 90s will inspire and remain the standards of beauty - perfect figures, beautiful hair and skin, sophistication and elegant style. Desirable ideal.

Are aesthetics in the eye of the beholder, or is there something universal that appeals to everyone? Is there a beauty behind the objective in photography ( ex. A look or a pose)

To be honest, we do not follow modern trends. Our sense of aesthetics is close to past eras, when style and manners played an important role in society.Now there is a completely different rhythm of life, a fast life, other priorities and values. If a person has a sense of taste, then he will be able to appreciate the beauty and originality of art photography. After all, everything should be harmoniously combined in the frame - the plot, the pose, and the light. It feels intuitively.

Today self-marketing and having a solid presence on the internet became very important; what measures do you take to improve your exposure?

We agree, self-marketing is important, today and before. But it is quite difficult to achieve needed aims in order to make the name, since the creative process is time-consuming and expensive. Time is precious. But time is required for creation of something valuable, original and unique.
That is why it is necessary to find the balance between creation and promotion.

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HONOURS & AWARDS

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Represented by GLOBAL IMAGES, LA, USA
Represented by PRIMA SIGNA Gallery, TN, USA
PHOTO LONDON 2021 with GALERIE PRINTS, Exhibition, SOMERSET HOUSE. London, UK  
Art Limited, International Art Exhibition, Fashion and Magazine Awards, Winner 1st place, Bordeaux, France 2022  
15th Annual Black & White Spider Awards 2020, Beverly Hills, CA - Nominee in Fashion category / An Echo                          
14th INTERNATIONAL COLOR AWARDS 2020, Beverly Hills, CA - Winner, Honorable Mention in Fashion category / Pink Tennis
14th Annual Black & White Spider Awards 2019, Beverly Hills, CA - Nominee in Abstract & Fashion category / Lines / Fantasy
GALERIE PRINTS Gallery. London, UK. Summer Breeze Exhibition. July 1st - August 26th 2019
YELLOWKORNER Art Gallery
PARIS PHOTO 2018, Fashion Nude Expo. Collective exhibition. Paris, France
MA Art + Design Exhibition    The Brick Lane Gallery, London UK 2018  12th Annual International Color Awards , Beverly Hills, CA 2019 - Nominee in Fashion category

13th Annual Black & White Spider Awards 2018 - Nominee in Fine Art / The Game  
12th Annual Black & White Spider Awards 2017, Beverly Hills, CA - Winner in Fashion category
11th Annual International Color Awards , Beverly Hills, CA 2017 - Nominee in Fashion category
HOME GALLERY, Personal Photography Exhibition 'FUTURO EROICO'. Salerno, Italy 20110th Annual INTERNATIONAL COLOR AWARDS 2017, Beverly Hills, CA - Winner, Honorable Mention in Fashion category
FASHION 2ND PLACE WINNER (PROFESSIONAL), FAPA 2016
PHIFEST Exhibition of Photography, Milan, Italy 2016
Photography Exhibition at SALONE DEL MOBILE 2016 - Milan, Italy  Photography Exhibition at 55th annual week of Design in Milan in co-operation with SM Samuele Mazza Outdoor Collection and Ipe Cavalli.  
Exhibition at The ART BOWL GALLERY, Amsterdam 2016
10th Annual Black & White Spider Awards 2015, Beverly Hills, CA - Nominee in Fashion
MONOCHROME AWARDS 2015 - Honorable Mention (Professional) in Fashion / Beauty
Finalists of the HASSELBLAD MASTERS AWARDS 2014
8th Annual INTERNATIONAL COLOR AWARDS, Beverly Hills, CA - Nominee in Fashion category
International Color Awards 2014  Sony World Photography Awards - Shortlisted in the Fashion category 2012, London, United Kingdom
Solo Exhibition in Russia 2011  Art Nude Photography Exhibition 'SECRET GARDEN', Ryazan city, Russia.  

PUBLICATIONS & PROJECTS

Luxury Splash of Art Magazine (UK), NORMAL magazine (France), 1x.com Magazine (Sweden), OPENEYE magazine (France), ELLE Magazine UK, THE COMMISSION LONDON (UK), THE HUFFINGTON POST (US), PH Magazine (Canada), INSIDE BRACKETS (Paris), IDOLL Magazine (USA), Professional Photographer (UK), CHIC LIFESTYLE Magazine (Mexico), BOREALIS (Canada), PORTFOLIOS Magazine (Spain), The View Magazine (Netherlands), ZEPHYR Magazine (US), NOCTIS Magazine (UK), VOGUE ITALIA (Italy), HOLISTIC FASHIONISTA (LA, US), TARTARUS Magazine (US), IT-MAGAZINE (Switzerland), AFTER NYNE Magazine (UK), ARCHIDESART Magazine (UK), NIF Magazine, WHY NOT Magazine, POLISART Magazine (Portugal), PLAYBOY Photo Awards (Ukraine), BIZZARE Magazine (UK), Sensual Photography (France),  All About Models (Paris, France), BLUR Magazine (Croatia), IDOLE Magazine (France), ART HOUSE (Monaco), etc. SAMUELE MAZZA - Luxury Interiors and Furniture (Italy), GIOFFRE (Italy), VERTIGE  (Italy), LA NUIT EDUN (UK), VICTOR WILDE - BOHEMIAN SOCIETY (USA), DAFT (Italy), KOLLECTOUR (UK), GREEN HANDS Cosmetics (USA), SOFT CANDY Cosmetics (USA), LARA QUINT (Ukraine), ZEMSKOVA & VOROZHBYT (Ukraine), OMAR HARFOUCH & YULIA LOBOVA (France), RUSSIAN DAY (France), ‘Designing Legends' - Architectural Book of VASILY KLYUKIN (Monaco).

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