Tanya Sharapova, born in Russia, is a Berlin-based artist whose practice spans documentary photography and expressive photographic image-making using composite techniques. She deploys both modes in order to examine the complex relationships between individuals and society—a central concern of her practice—from a variety of angles. In recent projects, which have centered on life in Russia and Germany, she has explored isolation and displacement, the nature of belonging, collective memory, and experiences of calamity and uncertainty.

After beginning her career as a photo editor, travel photographer, and writer, Tanya pursued a formal education in photography at the Ostkreuzschule in Berlin, graduating in 2024 from Irina Ruppert’s class with her project Kolsky, supported by the VG Bild-Kunst/Kulturwerk Foundation Grant. This period marked a shift in her focus from travel photography to documentary storytelling and experimenting with the possibilities of the medium itself.

Photo: Mathilde Tijen Hansen