Alicia, Ukraine, 2005

Israeli-born Chelbin uses portraiture as a window onto the world of her subjects. In her artist statement she explains: 'The main themes in my work are not social or topical, but private and mythical; I search for people who have a legendary quality in them; a mix between odd and ordinary. My images are vehicles to address universal themes: family issues, ideas of normality, puberty with its all incumbent pains and distractions, the desire for fame'. (www.michalchelbin.com).

Chelbin's forthcoming Aperture monograph will be published in spring 2008.