Anna Yam | Photographer | Texts

Anna Yam: A Photographer

Boaz Neumann

Georgy Philipovich Galkin was born on March 2, 1935, in Leningrad (now St Petersburg). In 1942 he was spirited out of besieged Leningrad to Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). His mother, a chemist, died during the siege. His father, a theater actor, fought in War World II. Georgy Philipovich, a mineral and mining engineer, immigrated to Israel on June 24, 1992, and lives in the Hadar neighborhood in Haifa. Now retired, he occasionally does private gardening jobs and creates shell art.

Svetlana Borisovna Fisheleva was born on July 29, 1939 in Sverdlovsk. Her father, a physicist, was killed in World War II. Her mother, university physics lecturer, passed away in 1997 in Yokneam Ilit. Svetlana Borisovna is a photographer. She immigrated to Israel on June 24, 1992, and lives in Hadar Neighborhood, Haifa. She is retired. She teaches private lessons in mathematics.

Anatoly Michailovich Yamshikov was born on November 26, 1927, in a small town in the area of Kirovsk. He worked as foreman in an arms factory. Anatoly Michailovich's father was a kulak. Sent into forced labor by the communists, he was killed at Belomor Canal. Consequently, the family moved to Sverdlovsk. Anatoly Michailovich served in the Soviet Army between 1944 and 1952, and was posted, inter alia, in Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. He passed away in 2001 in Yekaterinburg.

Faina Ivanovna Yamshikova was born on January 26, 1932 in a town in the vicinity of Kirovsk. A dentist, she passed away in 2004 in Yekaterinburg.

Yekaterina Georievna Yamshikova (Hebraized her surname to Yam in 1992) is the daughter of Georgy Philipovich Galkin and Svetlana Borisovna Fisheleva. She was born on September 9, 1960 in Sverdlovsk. An engineer, she worked in a factory for design and manufacture of submarine-launched missiles in her hometown between 1983 and 1989. From 1989 until her immigration to Israel on January 29, 1992, she worked in a cooperative for FIMO jewelry design. During her first year in Israel she worked in temporary jobs as cleaner and shop assistant. In 1993 she graduated from the Technion, and received a teaching certificate. She lives in the Neve Sha'anan neighborhood in Haifa, teaches mathematics in Ironi Gimel Junior High and designs jewelry.

Victor Anatolyevich Yamshikov (Hebraized his surname to Yam in 1992) is the son of Anatoly Michailovich Yamshikov and Faina Ivanovna Yamshikova. He was born on September 23, 1957 in Sverdlovsk. A cardiologist, he worked in the cardiology center in his hometown and as a prison doctor. He immigrated to Israel on June 24, 1992. During his first year in Israel he worked in temporary jobs as a glass cutter and kitchen worker. In 1993 he passed his exams in medicine and began working as a physician in Magen David Adom. He subsequently worked as an independent family doctor in Maccabi Healthcare Services in Karmiel and in Ma'a lot Tarshicha. After his divorce in 2004 he left Israel and returned to Yekaterinburg. He now works as a cardiologist in a private hospital. A collector of music.

Anna Victorovna Yamshikova (Hebraized her surname to Yam in 1992) is the daughter of Yekaterina Georievna Yamshikova (Yam) and Victor Anatolyevich Yamshikov (Yam). She was born on February 4, 1980 in Sverdlovsk and immigrated to Israel on January 29, 1992. She was raised in Haifa and Yokneam Ilit. In the IDF she served as look-out on the Lebanese border. A photographer, she teaches art and photography in Tel Aviv and Lod. In 2005 she completed her BFA at Hamidrasha School of Art, Beit Berl Academic College. She is currently studying for an MFA at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Tel Aviv. Lives and works in Tel Aviv. She has a sister, Daniel Malka Yam.

Anna takes pictures with a 35mm camera, a medium format camera (color and b/w negative), and a digital camera. She photographs mainly people, still life, and landscapes.