Katya Kirilloff has been told she’s brilliant. Don’t believe her when, inevitably, she’ll tell you the same.

She was born a waterbaby, found on the shore by a group of Ukrainian longliners. They fought the seagulls away and nursed her on crab juice. The note around her wrist said she should be taken to New York to become an actress. They quickly disposed of this note.

Katya grew up fast and hard in Frederick, MD. Her childhood was immersed in a lion’s den of creative energy, her parents being designers, her elder sister an opera singer, and her nephew a spelling bee champ finishing his first novel.

Katya shunned offers to be a part of the elite Scrabble Team of America to pursue dreams of photographing nothing and everything. She is continually influenced by Nan Goldin, small pale children, genius, early Flemish people in paintings, and whoever makes corn-tortilla burritos.

Katya holds a BFA from Art Center College of Design.