The project “The Essence Within” is a collaboration between photographer Natasha Volk , visual artist Serge Lion, known for his work in fashion and beauty and Vlady LOEWE -Handmade creator. Their creative synergy results in a rich visual narrative that redefines conventional beauty standards and celebrates nonconformity.
The series explores the depth of individuality and the uniqueness of each human being. Through the technique of light painting, Natasha Volk goes beyond the surface, capturing the distortions, refractions, and traces life leaves on our inner selves.
The works touch on themes of freedom, self-discovery, personal memory, and the delicate connection between the internal and external. The project invites viewers to engage in deep introspection and reflect on essential questions: What makes us who we are? How do we see ourselves—and how do we want to be seen?

Each chapter of the series highlights a different facet of these ideas:

• Inversion — explores how unconventional traits become sources of strength and self-expression.
• Water Memory — uses water’s reflections and movement as metaphors for memory and emotion.
• Hues of Identity — speaks to mirroring, the search for self, and the fragile beauty of uniqueness.
• Refraction — a visual metaphor inspired by the physics of light, showing how everything we create returns to us—transformed, but true to its essence.

“The Essence Within” is a visual journey into the human inner world—its complexity, beauty, and deep significance.