Artist Statement
Anna Chobotova (b. 1979, Republic of Karelia, Russia) is a photographer and visual artist based in Moscow. Her practice explores the existential states of the individual confronting the technological, economic, and social. Anna also researches the Karelian epic “Kalevala” and its potential for cultural manifestations in the present. Her mediums include photography, collage, artist’s books, and video installations.
In 2025, she was named among the top 100 photographers in the “Leica 100 Years” project. Her leporello artist’s book “Motyolek” (The Moth) was presented at the NIZINA Fair at the Moscow Museum (2024) and was acquired for the project’s library collection. Her collages were featured at the “Niches” Festival (ARBUZZ Gallery) and published by a Parisian collage club. She holds a PD in Arts and Cultural Management from the University of Manchester.
Her works are held in private collections in Russia, Finland, France, Germany, and China.
Artist Statement
My practice is based on researching the human existential experience in an era of change. I am interested in how new technologies, the economic situation, and societal transformations affect our self-awareness and perception of the world. I explore the feelings that arise in people facing the future, whether they fear losing connection with the past, and what ways they find to cope with rapid change. Through photography, collage, and installation, I strive to convey this tension and find new points of reference. One such point for me is the Karelian culture I grew up in. Therefore, in my work, I often turn to the imagery of the “Kalevala” epic, Karelian nature, and fairy tales, viewing them as a living code whose archetypes and conflicts are reflected in our contemporary reality. At the intersection of these traditions and modern technologies, I create a dialogue between the past and the future and search for ways to cope with rapid change. My position is not that of an observer, but of a participant who, from within the process, is assembling a new mythology for the lonely individual in the digital age.
Personal exhibitions
2022
“Walking in Paris”, MBU TO “KUZMOLOVSKAYA DSHI"/Saint Petersburg
2015
“Disappearing Shadows”, Karelian State Philharmonic/Petrozavodsk
2012
“Letters from childhood”, Fotonerds Gallery,/Joensuu, Finland
2011
“In the Land of Angels”, Karelian State Philharmonic/Petrozavodsk “Sensuality”, Gallery “Grain"/ Petrozavodsk
2010
“In the Land of the AnnaKids”, Puppet Theater of the Republic of Karelia/Petrozavodsk
2009
“Moulin Rouge: The Mirror” /Petrozavodsk
Group exhibitions:
2025
“Interference Field” installation, Art Garden Gallery, Saint Petersburg
2024
the collage exhibition of the Parisian collage club Earth Dance/ Paris
the collage exhibition PHOTOPLAY
'Rezh da Klej' fest “Nichese”, Moscow, ARBUZZ Gallerymuseum of Moscow.
Mobile shelf of zines and photo books of the Nizina project.
Pilot project of Zines and the author’s book “Paper Stories” , Petrozavodsk
2020
“Breaking the Kalevala Codes” Russian Center for Science and Culture, Helsinki +Estonia+Lithuania+ Budapest
2019
“Opening the Kalevala codes”, Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Karelia/ Petrozavodsk
2017
Monocle, a photo exhibition based on the results of the All-Russian photo contest dedicated to the monocle lens/ K. A. Timiryazev Library
2011
“Author-time”, Industrial History Gallery/Petrozavodsk
2010
“The time of the day.OnegaTraktorny LOFT project, Cultural Initiative Center/ Petrozavodsk
Education
2025
Yulia Pavlova Memorial Laboratory
2008-2024
Author’s courses, master classes by leading Russian and foreign photographers (Studio Harcourt (Paris), Magnum Photos, Mark Fearnley (London), Leica Akademie: Alan Schaller, Alexander Medvedev, Andrey Chezhin, Igor Sakharov.
2006-2007
Academy of International Cooperation, international diploma with a degree in photography
2004 -2005
The University of Manchester, PHD in Cultural Management
1996-2001
Karelian State University Pedagogical University, Faculty of Foreign Languages (Finnish, English)
Exhibition posters
