Sisters

'Three souls, bound through the lens'. Debut Visual Narrative by Anna Rakhvalova; Curated by Sofia Shchukina
About this Event

Anna Rakhvalova’s work is rooted in a deeply personal story - one of distance, longing, and the quiet construction of connection. Growing up as an only child in a fractured family, she carried a persistent feeling of absence, as though someone was missing. That absence began to shift when, at the age of twenty, she met her future sisters for the first time - Maya, then three years old, and later Sasha, who was born two years after. Their relationship did not come naturally. Seeing each other only once or twice a year, Anna remained on the periphery; an observer more than a participant. The sisters shared a world of their own, bound by a closeness she did not yet know how to enter. Photography became the bridge between them. Through her camera, Anna found a way to connect. What began as simple, almost documentary images slowly evolved into a shared creative space. Year after year, the act of photographing became a ritual - an unspoken language through which they could meet. The girls grew up in front of her lens, and in the process, their relationship transformed. Over time, the distance dissolved. The camera no longer separated them, it brought them together. The images became not only a record of their growth, but a testament to a bond that was built rather than given. Anna’s work captures this fragile, evolving intimacy. It is both a personal archive and a poetic reflection on belonging: on how connection can be created, nurtured, and reclaimed, even when it doesn’t exist from the beginning.