unfiltered lives. A+K.
Foreword
A few years ago, while wandering the streets of Riga, I came across a poster with a bold statement: “We blame society, but we’re the society.”
That moment sparked a question I’ve carried with me ever since: as a photographer, what change can I bring to society?
This project was born out of years spent taking staged pictures—“decorating” people, especially women, with full-on makeup, flattering poses, seductive expressions, and meticulously chosen outfits.
It grew from years of scrolling through Instagram, consuming filtered “reality” day after day.
And it crystalised when we moved to Bali, and I realised that I’ve no interest in making the awesome content (like I initially planned) about us being a couples goal living in paradise. Because we are not couples goal, and Bali isn’t always a paradise. But the life is nontheless wonderful and I want to photograph it as it is, because this is exactly how I want to remember it.
The main concept of this project was: who are we when we don’t shoot ourselves for Insta-stories?
I’ll start with us, real AF.
Disclaimer: Most of the pictures are, of course, staged, because I don’t carry a camera in my hand every second of my life. But they absolutely represent our reality.
Alex and Karina (46 and 45 y.o.)
We’ve been together 18 years. Never got married. Broke up once for 2 weeks, ages ago. We raised three kids and did some other epic shit together. And yet, occasionally there’s a question in the air: is that it? or is there something bigger in life?
We have our moments of unconditional love, slow mornings and raw intimacy.
but we also have days when we don’t exist for each other.
sometimes our wine revelations are about happily ever after.
another times it’s a thriller: total recall.
we sleep in separate bedrooms because one of us need personal space and another one..well, snores.
we love passionately.
but we also know how to hurt.
We fully accepted each other’s kinks.
our sex is not always a performance. sometimes it’s just a quick fix.
we look into the future holding hands, but sometimes it feels like future won’t happen.
we live, we love, we fight, we kiss, we age, we learn, we hate, we cry, we laugh, we change, we act weird.
don’t believe everything you see online. perfect people don’t exist. we all live our unfiltered lives behind carefully curated scenes.
I hope to make this project big and wrap it up into a photo book, showcasing real lives of real people. If this idea appeals to you and you’re in close proximity to me, get in touch and let’s create some art together.