Anya Chibis’ trajectory from trained painter to filmmaker to commercial photographer has been as surprising as a sudden blaze of vivid colour across a subtle canvas. A eureka moment led her from her artist’s easel at OCAD back to Mother Russia to roll film on a multifaceted career in movies. But it was her stint as a photo editor that saw her pick up a camera, beginning her serendipitous rise to the top of Russia’s photography industry. The revelation of Anya’s astonishing many-sided success is explained through the lens of her work: tender and rich, moving and ethereal; her photography is as exotic and unexpected as her story.