My World in 8

When I looked through the Documentary Photography syllabus at the beginning of the semester, I thought that "My World in 8" would be my favorite assignment. When I finally got to it I realized how exciting and how difficult it was to document my own life.

A Czech writer Milan Kundera once said that there are three dimensions to every personality: how one sees himself, how others see him and what he is in reality. I hope that my vision of myself is close to reality.
I took this assignment really serious. I was thinking about it for several weeks, looking at pictures again and again, and I'm nervous to press "publish" because it feels very personal.

Self-portrait in my room.
My name is Inna Spivakova. I moved to America three years ago. My family is in my hometown Chelyabinsk, in the Ural Mountain region of Russia. I feel very lonely sometimes because the people I love live so far away. I miss my mom, my dad, my brother Dmitry, my two grandmothers and Mad Max, the most wonderful cat in the world!

My best friend Julia.
But luckily, I share my apartment with my best friend. We went to the same high school and college in Russia and moved to America together. Julia is an amazing person and my favorite model for pictures! We love cooking Russian food together, going for long walks and riding our bikes. Many people think that we are sisters.

I'm editing pictures on the floor of my room.
I discovered photography around three years ago. What is interesting is that my grandfather was a photographer. He tried to get me involved when I was 7 years old, but I was not interested at all. It is sad, because he died 4 years ago and I cannot tell him about my passion. I remember that he used to shoot with a Russian camera called Zenith. He developed and printed in the bathroom of his small apartment.
Photography makes me understand myself better. It makes me notice details that other people often miss.

A still from Michelangelo Antonioni's La Notte with Marcello Mastroiani and Monica Vitti.
My other passion is film. I love film. Color and black and white. Film Noir and French New Wave. European cinema and Asian cinema. My favorite director of all times is Andrei Tarkovsky who made Solaris and Mirror. I also like Fellini, Bergman, Fassbinder, Kusturica and Lynch. Netflix is my best friend!
I can't wait until the Philadelphia Film Festival starts in March. I think I'm going to volunteer again. For free tickets!

A page from my journal.
I started keeping a journal when I was 12. I am 22 right now and I am still doing it. "I like to remember things my way...not necessarily the way they happened," said one of David Lynch's characters in Lost Highway. This is how I feel and this is why I like to write stuff down. First of all, it helps me understand what's happening in my life better. Second, it gives me a chance to go as far back as 10 years and see how much I have changed. I usually write in Russian because it is my first language and it is easier to express myself.

This is my friend Raleigh.
I haven't had a bike since I was 6. So, last summer i rediscovered the joy of riding a bike. Biking is great: it's fast, it's environment-friendly and it's fun!

A small park on Christian St. in South Philadelphia.
This is my favorite park in the city. It is pretty close to where I live. I go there when I'm upset and want to be alone or when I want to call my parents in Russia or simply to feed pigeons. It's always very quiet there and sometimes it seems to me that nobody lives in those houses around it. I spend a lot of time in this park, and only a few people know how much I like it.

Byard Lancaster, a famous Philadelphia saxophone and flute player, and his band performing at The Sidecar Bar and Grille on 22nd and Christian St.
Jazz is a big part of my life. I grew up listening to it. My father, Vladimir Spivakov, who lives in Russia, has been a fan of jazz for over 30 years. Jazz was quite a dangerous hobby at the times when the Communist Party was in power. Foreign influences (including music and art) were strictly prohibited, and it was really hard for my father to get vinyls and tapes with jazz recordings from abroad. Now he is a proud owner of a huge collection of records. He used to play the guitar while he went to college. For his 50th birthday this year my father got a new guitar and started playing again.
I am glad that there is a jazz scene in Philadelphia, and I always tell my father about the live performances that I attend both in Phila and in New York City.

This is the person I'm in love with. I met Jason Carr 4 months and 28 days ago. It is the longest relationship I've had so far. He is a DJ and a composer. He introduced me to techno and classical music. It is amazing how although we grew up in different parts of the world we understand each other so well! Jason recently tried borsht (Russian beet soup) and got himself a textbook and audiotapes to learn Russian. Jason is a huuuuge part of my world! He makes me switch from black and white to color.