Lupinizam
A transmedia creative enterprise built around four decades of neo-expressionist art, a New York nightlife photography archive, a Croatian war story, and a philosophy called Lupinizam.
Stephan Lupino has lived the kind of life most artists invent. Born in Varaždin, Croatia, he arrived in New York as a karate champion and became the most notorious nightlife photographer of the downtown 1980s scene — shooting Basquiat, Haring, Jagger and hundreds of unnamed nocturnal creatures from a makeshift studio in the women’s bathroom of the legendary club Area.
Then the war came. He walked away from everything and returned to Croatia to fight. Wounded, decorated, changed — he emerged from the conflict as a sculptor, painter and philosopher. His art philosophy, Lupinizam, is now the connective tissue of an entire transmedia universe.
The Night Photographer
New York, 1978–1991. Called “the downtown Helmut Newton,” Lupino photographed the era’s icons from inside the most dangerous and glamorous clubs in Manhattan. His archive of hundreds of vintage photographs — many never published — is now being editioned for the first time under Dagda Media’s management.
The Soldier
Croatia, 1991–1995. When war broke out between Croatia and Serbia, Lupino left New York to fight. He joined the Croatian army, rose to the rank of officer, and was wounded in combat. No other artist of the NYC downtown scene has this chapter in their biography.
The Sculptor
Croatia & the World, 1995–present. After the war, photography gave way to sculpture and painting. Monumental bronzes cast by hand, standing four metres high. Wooden torsos laced with metal. Masks, crosses, Power Thrones. A body of work exhibited at Pace Gallery London, Zagreb Airport, and museums across Europe.
The Philosophy
Lupinizam is not a brand — it is a worldview. The human condition against an indifferent cosmos. Eros and Thanatos. Apocalyptic vision and the desperate, stubborn search for redemption. It is the operating system of everything Dagda Media builds around Lupino’s work.
Every product references every other product. The edition prints link to the catalogue raisonné. The trading cards reference the novel. The documentary tells the story the biography cards summarise. Everything drives traffic to the website. Nothing is orphaned.
Photography Editions
Limited edition archival prints from the NYC nightlife archive. Signed, numbered, embossed, with five-layer authentication and a digital catalogue raisonné. Icons, Portraits, and Scene collections at €250–€10,000.
The Burning Thrones
A literary speculative fiction novel that transforms Lupino’s sculptures into artefacts from a dying civilisation on another planet. The narrative engine that makes every other product cohere. Trade publishing or prestige illustrated edition.
Documentary
A feature documentary or limited series: “Lupinizam: Fire and Darkness.” Three acts tracking three lives. Pitched to Netflix, BBC, Arte, MUBI and Apple TV+. Sizzle reel in production.
Trading Cards
120–160 card collectible series across six categories: Artworks, Portraits, Icons, Biography, Vatraš Lore, and Philosophy. Physical and digital editions. 1/1 original art cards hand-painted by Lupino.
Catalogue Raisonné
The definitive digital registry of all Lupino works. Seven-table relational database with public verification, QR-code authentication, edition tracking, and provenance chains. The backbone of the entire authentication system.
Merch & Sculpture Miniatures
Apparel, posters, homeware, and scaled reproductions of iconic bronzes — positioned post-novel as “artefacts from Vatraš.” Print-on-demand keeps inventory costs to zero.
The Burning Thrones takes the Lupinizam philosophy and builds it into a fully realised world. A planet circling a dying sun. A civilisation that knows it is ending. Monumental bronzes ritually set on fire each year. Masks that conceal emotion. Thrones designed to cause pain. The novel transforms every piece of Lupino’s art from a gallery object into a fragment of a mythological world.
This is the transmedia key — every major body of Lupino’s work maps onto an element of the fictional world:
completed
designed
the archive
the first series
Foundation
Partnership formalised. Photography archive scanned. Catalogue raisonné database built. Website rebuilt as commercial and editorial hub. First edition prints go on sale.
First Products
Trading card Series 1 launched. Documentary sizzle reel completed and pitched. Novel synopsis and sample chapters submitted to agents. Social media content programme begins.
Expansion
Monograph in production. Documentary pitch package complete. Novel manuscript progresses. Merch line expands. Gallery representation secured in London and New York.
Scale
Novel published. Documentary in production or distribution. Vatraš mythology live on the website. Screen adaptation pitch based on novel. Licensing and collaboration deals.
Dagda Media is seeking partners, investors and collaborators to bring the Lupinizam transmedia project to its full potential. If you represent a gallery, production company, publisher, or investment group and you see the opportunity in this IP, we’d like to hear from you.
Get in Touch