EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Alex & Galina:

The Visionaries Behind ConGA BatALEX

Conducted by Guillaume Jean Lefebvre

1. Your work revolves around exploring the sacred feminine. What was the first moment in your personal or artistic life when you felt drawn to this universal mythology?

For a long, long time, we lived and worked in the High North. Once, about 15 years ago, we met Nganasans, the indigenous people in Taimyr. At that time, there were about 320 people. But they had their unique language, their own culture, traditions, legends, and myths. And Shamaness played the key role in their myths. Then we met Ents, another indigenous people in Taimyr with their unique language, culture, traditions, legends, and myths, looking like the Nganasans’ ones. There were about 32 people at that time.
And our friend, a very good and famous linguist, said: “You have a unique opportunity. Write down their languages, because they may disappear!” But we are not linguists! We don’t know how to record languages! So, we decided to take photos, because we would like to serve the rich but disappearing heritage of the indigenous people.
Then there were the Saami people in Scandinavia, the indigenous peoples from the Canadian High North, from Alaska, Latin America, Africa, Papua, and from other parts of the world. And all their myths are outwardly different from each other, but internally they have the only one narrative! And this narrative is based on the sacred feminine.

2. You transform ancient goddesses into modern figures. How do you choose which aspects of a deity to reinterpret, and what guides you in this transposition between past and present?

Myths and legends are our best friends and our permanent companions. In any myth, the Great Moon Goddess is accompanied by many attributes: items of outfit (crown, ring, necklace, etc.), precious stones, constellations, and sometimes familiars. And we try to find their modern analogues.

3. You created for a long time in digital silence, without immediate recognition. How did this period shape your relationship to art, perseverance, and your sense of personal value?

Oh, today we know for a fact that it was the best time of our lives. We could live and create without looking at others, without thinking about their reactions and possible risks. It was a time of formation, a time to find our own style, development, and progress.

4. often speak of “visuality” and symbolism. Which recurring symbol in your photos best represents your duo, and why does it appear so frequently?

Key as a symbol of enigma and the path to solve it. We absolutely love to create any riddles, but we should give the keys to open them.

In the world of contemporary visual storytelling, few artistic duos shine as uniquely as Alex and Galina, the creative forces behind ConGA BatALEX. Photographers, models, travelers, writers, and dreamers, they have built an artistic universe rooted in mythology, culture, and the eternal feminine. Their work is more than photography — it is a visual-literary journey that bridges continents, histories, and archetypes.

Their very names — ALEX and GAlina — form the symbolic foundation of ConGA BatALEX, reflecting the harmony and duality at the heart of their craft. United by shared values and boundless curiosity, they travel the world in search of inspiring landscapes, creative models, and new cultural narratives. Their mission centers on a series of illustrated booklets exploring female archetypal identity across cultures, each serving as a visual chapter for their novel The Great Moon Goddess — a modern exploration of ancient feminine divinity.

Their muse is universal. Known across cultures as Ishtar, Venus, Athena, Isis, Cybele, Kali, Hecate, Inari, or Morrigan, the Great Moon Goddess becomes a modern figure through their lens — imagined as a model or actress if she lived today, a symbol of beauty and artistic expression.
Their path has not always been easy. For years, their work received little recognition online, often gathering only a few likes. Instead of discouragement, they found freedom — detaching from the fleeting approval of social media and focusing on depth, meaning, and craft. Today, success for them means touching people, inspiring imagination, and sharing ideas that truly resonate.

Emotion sits at the core of their artistry. For Alex and Galina, photography is a way to gain knowledge, take part in creation, and leave something meaningful behind. Art becomes a tool for shaping the future — a legacy built intentionally, thoughtfully, and collaboratively.
Though their work may seem abstract to some, this distance allows them to see the world through a symbolic and mythological lens. Books, music, and art ground them, while creativity remains part of their daily rhythm — they aim to produce at least one photo or illustration every day.

Being featured in magazines like Éclair represents more than visibility; it marks a step toward sharing their vision with an audience open to cultural and artistic depth. They measure success by authenticity and connection rather than numbers.
For them, photography is a way to understand the world and themselves. Each project uncovers new skills, hidden abilities, and insights into human nature. Friendship, emotion, knowledge, dreams, and imagination hold far more value than the material.

When faced with obstacles or competition, they return to the essential truth: they pick up the camera and create again, guided by consistency, humility, and passion.
Their message to their younger selves is bold and freeing:
Be yourself. Be different. Forget your complexes. Break boundaries. Experiment. Provoke. Seduce. Play — your time will come.
Their advice to others is equally clear: prioritize quality, develop your own style, and communicate with intention.

If remembered by a single word, they choose Dreamers — because dreams do come true when guided by purpose, creativity, and fearless desire.

INTERVIEW

5. Each model becomes a temporary incarnation of a goddess. How do you build this connection between the photographed woman and the mythological archetype she embodies?

Before each photoshoot we spend a lot of time preparing it. We discuss together with the model all aspects and details: location, outfit, accessories, makeup, props, etc. And during this dialogue, the model chooses an image that is close to her. And often she says that she has dreamed of embodying it since her childhood.

6. Your novel The Great Moon Goddess accompanies your photography. How do your literary and photographic processes intertwine? Does one naturally inspire the other, or do they evolve in parallel?

Oh, it's a constant process of interchange, mutual enrichment, symbiosis. We don't know what our next photo will be, and we don't know what our next storyline will be. But everything is happening almost without our participation.

7. You create at least one photo or illustration every day. At what point do these daily creations shift from being an exercise to a necessity — a form of emotional balance?

Indeed, we made a promise to ourselves to do at least one photo per day. And it is both our duty and our pleasure. We already physically feel some kind of emptiness inside, some kind of dissatisfaction if we have not fulfilled our promise. Conversely, we experience a feeling close to delight, having fulfilled it once again.

8. Your vision of success has evolved, moving from numbers to deeper meaning. Today, how do you measure the real impact of a work on a viewer, beyond visible reactions?

Messages from different people, first of all from models, with different offers of cooperation, with new ideas and images – this is the real result of our creativity for us today.

9. Your art promotes the idea that beauty comes from knowledge, emotion, and imagination. Which encounter, journey, or discovery has most profoundly changed your perception of beauty?

The Himalayas are the place which completely changed us. We made the final decision to write the novel with our photo illustrations there. It was like traveling to another Planet.

10. If ConGA BatALEX were to leave a single legacy for future generations, what message would you want them to take away about your approach to the feminine, myth, and creation?

The world that surrounds us is very beautiful! It is perfect and harmonious, even small parts of our lives and nature are a masterpiece created by the Universe. Learn to see the beauty of this world and the wonderful wonders that are happening around us, observe history and culture, myths and legends, the past and the future. So, then you will find harmony and connection with many interesting things.

Рhotographer: CONGA BATALEX – @conga_batalex_photography
www.congabatalex.com

Models:

KRISTINA YAKIMOVA – @ kristi0110
OLGA ALBERTI – @olgaalberti
NADEGDA GERMANOVA – @nadezhda.germano
IRON BLONDE – @ironblonde_
MODEL LU-LU – @model_lu_lu
ANNA LUNA – @lunaartf
EVGENIA SATORY – @ jeni_makeup

Makeup Artist: KRISTINA YAKIMOVA – @ kristi0110
ALEKSANDRA NIKITINA – @nikitina_makeup
CHRISTINA MIRYANOVA – @miryanchikk
NADEGDA GERMANOVA – @nadezhda.germanov
DENIS GORBUNOV – @denismakeup
ANNA LUNA – @lunaartf
EVGENIA SATORY – @ jeni_makeup