Editorial: Spectral Brides Merry Widows and Holy Virgins by Felix Abrudan

24 Dec

Féroce Magazine presents this striking photographic series by photographer and retoucher Felix Abrudan, brought to life under the art direction of Kara Grin. Drawing on Central and Eastern European mythology, the team reimagines the woman as a folkloric figure who moves between innocence, danger and spiritual power.

Set across Vienna’s former imperial palace gardens and its surrounding historic architecture, the work positions model Leo Danaë within the heart of the former Austro Hungarian Empire, a region whose myths and symbols have shaped these archetypes for centuries. With styling by Anna Romanko and SulymDanyila, and creative assistance from Nikita Kuzmych, the imagery merges heritage with a contemporary visual language that reflects on cultural appropriation, cultural seeding and the fluid nature of popular culture as a force that both preserves and transforms tradition.

Echoing the legacy of Austrian masters who turned to myth and metaphor, the series reframes this lineage through a modern, empowered lens. As a response to Klimt’s “The Three Ages of Woman”, it presents a heroine who steps beyond inherited narrative roles and commands the city around her as a living myth.