Photographer Feature: GITA
"Women transformed into otherworldly beings"
A blank canvas is often a daunting challenge for artists, the emptiness staring at them in anticipation. For cosmetic artists like GITA, each canvas is actually alive and watching her. Using makeup, latex, colored contacts, and handcrafted wigs and nails, GITA expertly creates characters as unique as the women she works with. The women are transformed into otherworldly beings, at times ethereal, at times vicious and bloody. GITA also sets scenes for her subjects to interact with to create her photographs, at times collaborating with other artists and photographers. Her work in this challenging medium is an incredible demonstration of special effects makeup as an art form.
From the artist:
Art is the same as life – sometimes light, pastel, natural and nude; sometimes dark, bright, expressive and sharp; sometimes girly and flowery, and sometimes bloody and scary. GITA loves creating it all. Even though crime based and scary movies aren’t her favorite to watch, creating zombies, wounds and cuts is a different story! Transforming someone into something scary, abnormal, or out of this world gives the artist as much pleasure as creating beauty or fantasy styles. In the end she believes that art isn’t supposed to be only beautiful- it has to make you FEEL something – just like in real life. Every day brings different emotions: joy, sadness, fear, love, anger, fun, amazement… So if GITA’s art brings any of these emotions to the viewer she feels that she has truly created something.
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Born in Lithuania, Jurgita Gerbataviciute aka GITA was always fascinated by beauty when she was little, especially beautiful women and girls. She used to draw girls every day. She had never thought of becoming an artist, even though her talent for painting was recognized from early childhood. Then one day she found the courage to quit a well paying job for Emirates Airlines as a flight attendant in Dubai and start from zero – as a makeup artist. GITA felt comfortable and happy from day one! Blending colors perfectly, understanding their nature, and having the courage to use vivid shades were areas she excelled in. Very quickly and easily her career took off, as instructors would refer her to different kinds of gigs. One of them was a Lithuanian drama/crime movie where she had the chance to do some very specific special effects – wounds. Then she understood that there was a whole field of arts she wanted to dive in to. GITA left Lithuania and enrolled in San Francisco School of Makeup to learn special effects. It opened the door to fantastic worlds of ice queens, aliens, and zombies. Today she continues to work with production houses to create commercials and movies for world knows brands such as Honda, the 5 star hotel VOCO in Dubai, and Taleem- the biggest education provider in the Middle East.
See more of GITA’s work here.