SARATHUSTRA: ANONYMOUS PRIVACY

Sarathustra: Anonymous Privacy marks solo photography debut

Sarathustra von Lichtenstein was long-admired for artistic collaborations with her partner that produced collectable gothic- and fetish-themed prints and calendars. But when the couple split up, she wanted to prove to herself that she could produce work of similar quality on her own. A year later, she published her first solo effort, a calendar for 2020 called Anonymous Privacy, which has been well received, to her great delight. Here she talks about her determined, if sometimes painful, transition to solo producer, and shares the first year’s images with us

German model, performer, artist and designer Sarathustra von Lichtenstein, who hails from Bochum near Essen, was for a long time one half of one of the fetish scene’s notable creative couples.

With her partner of more than ten years, photo-artist blende666, Sarathustra produced intricate fetish- and gothic-tinged imagery that was available both as individual prints and gathered together in highly collectable annual calendars.

Sadly though, after more than a decade of sharing their “art, inspirations and life”, the couple split up. “It was a hard break with a lot of struggles,” Sarathustra admits.

“Though I have always been a very independent and autonomous woman, I suddenly felt like I was not strong enough to handle my life alone any more.”

“So I made the decision to create a calendar completely on my own — to prove to myself I am still that independent person, and to grow strong again.”

ANONYMOUS PRIVACY: calendar cover from Sarathustra’s first solo photography project

Sarathustra had previously done not just the modelling but also the hair and make-up and most of the set organisation and post-production for the couple’s collaborations.

But to become a fully autonomous producer meant acquiring some additional skills with camera and lighting.

“During the first months of being alone I felt badly lost,” she says, “finding myself depressed, not able to find enough power to shoot or even to have regularly meals. But I have so many amazing friends who never gave up believing in me.”

One of those friends came to her rescue by teaching her the essentials of flash photography. This gave her the confidence to begin creating her own work, something she has done now for more than a year.

THE INNER SELF ON DISPLAY

Sarathustra: Anonymous Privacy — the 2020 calendar she produced from her first solo photography efforts — has sold well. Happily, copies are still available from online store Lackina (link below right).

“For me,” she says, “this is a symbol to myself and to others who might need it: never give up, and never think you are dependent on anyone else.”

The gallery below shows the 12 images chosen for the 12 months of 2020, displayed just as the pages appear in the calendar itself.

“The calendar is called Anonymous Privacy,” she explains, “because on the one hand it‘s very private and emotional. But the pictures show so much of my inner self that I decided to hide or cover parts of my face in every picture.”

January’s image (top left in our banner) was the first she produced on her own. Sarathustra felt this image had to start the calendar “because it shows where I started — my first time using a remote shutter control”.

“In the picture, I am eating the butterflies to show my broken inner self,” she says. “And I was crying for real during this shoot. No fake tears at least.

“I still felt so bruised during this time. I had fallen in love with someone new but was not able yet to get into a new relationship.

“But somehow, this first shoot was my breakout. Finally I found a way to express myself and my feelings — and slowly I got back on my feet.”

In summer 2019 she went on her very first solo vacation — two weeks in which she went hiking and climbing through the mountains, frequently sharing small cabins with other hikers who were complete strangers.

“I took a backpack with only the most essential goods, plus two shooting outfits, a camera, a tripod and my remote control. I wanted to find out how far I could walk in a day, and how high I could climb.

“I figured out my physical and psychological boundaries while climbing on steeply-angled rocks with nobody there who could help me out if I got into trouble. Sometimes I cried due to exhaustion, but most of the time I cried because I felt so happy and alive.”

This led to her choosing the sunrise picture for February and the iced sea for the last month of the 2020 calendar.

“Both pictures were taken during this journey. You can see the snow and ice (within a height of 3000m) but I was not freezing. I enjoyed the sun and the total silence. I felt like I was reborn — and the day after I arrived back home, I started my new relationship.”

The calendar’s cover is based on a picture shot at Sarathustra’s dance studio.

“My dear dance teacher helped me through my hard times,” she reveals. “She gave me shelter when I didn‘t know where to sleep, and stood beside me on the day I left my old home and my old life.

SUPPORT FROM AWESOME FANS

“There were so many helping hands like her — so many people who protected me within the first months. I owe them so much.

“I am also very thankful for my awesome fans, who still support me so much, writing me lovely mails, buying this calendar and sending me birthday presents.

“And I am so lucky to know so many talented and warmhearted designers, who gave me clothes and accessories for the project, and were very patient the whole time.

“With this calendar I wanted to show my new strength and determination to start a new life, while not forgetting where I came from.

“I want to remind all people who find themselves in apparently hopeless situations to keep on going. Never giving up hopes and dreams. Never giving up on yourself.”

This is a maxim Sarathustra von Lichstenstein is continuing to live by. Her first 2021 calendar shoots have already started. And now, she adds almost as an aside, she just has to sort out a new website to replace the one she no longer has access to.

Calendar modelling, styling, photography,
post-production & graphic design:
Sarathustra von Lichtenstein
Lackina/Sarathustra 2020 calendar

Featured designers:
Engineers of Desire (September)
Instinct Berlin (March)
Lovely Latex (May)
Marquis Fashion (October)
Tuahadedana (August)
Your Fetish World (January, May, October)
YourShape (Cover, July):