Atomic Heart Series

Steam punk inspired “Atomic Heart” series

“Atomic heart” series by Boston Artist can’t be described better than this insightful quote: “Steampunk is…a joyous fantasy of the past, allowing us to revel in a nostalgia for what never was.”
― George Mann

The Atomic Heart series was born during the Covid‑19 pandemic lockdown, a time that profoundly unsettled our perceptions of the world and of ourselves. While preparing for a new composite portrait project with botanical backgrounds, Boston-based LGBTQ+ artist Dmitriy Gushchin was confronted with the stay‑at‑home order. Unable to conduct outdoor photoshoots, he began experimenting with background images created from household machinery, transforming everyday objects into prototypes of surreal, steam‑punk inspired environments.

These mechanical landscapes became perfect backdrops for reflecting the new realities of the pandemic. As outside activities disappeared, global society entered an inevitable deep fusion with technology—machines and digital systems increasingly ruling our lives. Within this context, Dmitriy found fresh ground for exploration in the steam‑punk genre, reimagining confinement as a catalyst for creativity. The shrinking of the living environment to the walls of a house forced expansion through imagination, machinery, and symbolic transformation.

Although conceived during lockdown, the series continues to resonate with the current human condition. In Atomic Heart, one model becomes half‑cyborg, merging with overpowering technology, while another clutches a toy gun—her imagination shaped by countless mystery shows consumed during isolation. Each portrait embodies resilience: hope, power, self‑healing, curiosity, and reflection, but never defeat.

The Atomic Heart series is both a chronicle of pandemic realities and a meditation on humanity’s evolving relationship with technology. It invites viewers to consider how crisis reshapes identity, how imagination transforms confinement, and how queer creativity reclaims even the most mechanical spaces as sites of beauty and liberation.

Here you can explore a limited selection of works from Dmitriy Gushchin’s steam‑punk inspired portraiture series.

Although many of the images created by Boston-based gay photo artist Dmitriy Gushchin have been banned by Instagram and other social platforms under the label of “containing nudity,” Dmitriy sees this as part of a broader pattern of anti-LGBTQ censorship. What began as his visionary series “Obscure Dream Liberation” has unexpectedly turned into the “Instagram Nightmare”—a struggle against the silencing of queer artistic expression in digital spaces.

Currently, Dmitriy’s Instagram account is “shadow blocked,” appearing private to non-subscribers and limiting the visibility of his work. This suppression highlights the urgent need to defend LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of expression. Art should never be censored simply for its honesty, vulnerability, or celebration of queer identity.

By subscribing and following accounts like Dmitriy’s, you stand in solidarity with queer artists who refuse to be erased. He is not alone—this is a collective fight, and every voice matters. Together, we can resist censorship and affirm the power of queer creativity.

You can read more in the article linked below.

You can check the article by clicking the link: https://www.advocate.com/business/instagram-shadowbanning-lgbtq-content . Please support your favorited gay photographer and LGBTQ photo artist community by expressing your opinion to Instagram and other anti-gay social networks. Your opinion hopefully can make the difference!

You can access other pages of gay photo artist Dmitriy Gushchin from here:

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