MANIFEST

I am an independent photographer. I shoot long-term projects on various topics that concern me. My area of interest is at the intersection of visual arts and socio-cultural phenomena in society. I am mostly focused on non-staged documentary and unit still photography.

My main mission is to convey ideas and meanings through visual code in order to expose the nature of phenomena. Photography is a universal language for me, where symbols and metaphors can be used to create new statements. This is why it is important for me to shoot a series of frames, and my language is similar to that of cinema, which I often draw on.

The experience of photography for me is a sensual personal intimate experience of experiencing the moment and personal discoveries. I look at the world through the eyes of a researcher and look for answers to eternal questions. And this experience is not a monologue - it is always a dialogue with the outside world.

A woman taking a mirror selfie with a camera, wearing a black top, black ripped jeans, and a light-colored coat draped over her shoulders. She has dark hair and a neutral expression, with framed artwork and a plant in the background.

BIO

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR (1987) and now I live and work in Russia.

1992 - as forced migrants, the whole family moved to Russia, Volgograd

2014 - graduated with a master's degree from the Architectural Institute and started working as an architect.

2016 - became interested in photography.

2021 - moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg and started studying with the reportage photographer Sergey Maksimishin. I also completed my first long-term photo project about the museums of St. Petersburg.

2025 — POLEZRENIYA, Photobook as a Project: From Dummy to Audience course.2025 - I ended my career in architecture and devoted myself entirely to photography.

2025 - I ended my career in architecture and devoted myself entirely to photography.

A woman with long dark hair wearing headphones, resting her chin on her hand with her eyes closed, in a gray-scale photo overlaid onto a colorful background of green and red hair underwater.

Experience

In my practice, I continuously experiment and develop new approaches, creating projects at the intersection of different genres — from reportage photography of cultural events to documenting creative processes and working on long-term documentary photo projects.

  • REportage Photography

I photograph cultural events, exhibitions, presentations, and workshops. I work in an observational documentary style, capturing the atmosphere of the event, the interactions between people, and the character of the space.

Projects:
— reportage photography of exhibitions and cultural events for Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
— photography of an exhibition about the nature of sound at Dom Radio
— photography of an exhibition at the Stepan Razin Brewery space — the CISTERN installation in Saint Petersburg

  • BTS / Unit Still Photography

I document the behind-the-scenes process of film and creative productions — the work of the crew, the atmosphere of the set, and key moments of production. I work discreetly on set, often in low-light conditions, respecting set etiquette and capturing the atmosphere and visual dramaturgy of the production.

Projects:
— BTS photography for a studio music video by the band Yarvi
— Unit still photography for a theatre performance about Marc Chagall at St. Peter and Paul Lutheran Church (Petrikirche), Saint Petersburg

  • Documentary Photo Projects

In my long-term projects, regardless of the concept, I aim to convey a broader idea through visual storytelling, building photographic narratives — whether the project explores themes of childhood or reflects on museum spaces, often with a final presentation in the form of a photobook.

Projects:
— project about Museums and Waterfront in Saint Petersburg
— project about childhood “Lost Paradise”. — project about Moscow