The two main characters in this image, the Russian photographer Olga Ivanova says, are her mother, Zinaida, and Ivanova’s seven-year-old daughter, Maria. Ivanova and her daughter were visiting Zinaida at her house in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, for her 62nd birthday when this photo was taken. Having trained in rhythmic gymnastics since she was three, Maria was performing a routine for her grandmother, who was taking pictures on her phone and reading celebratory text messages from friends.
“My mother has always had a desire for self-improvement and never sat idle; she ran her own business for years, and even now in retirement she loves Nordic walking and travel, especially to learn about new cultures and customs. My daughter is equally energetic. She spends a lot of time training, rejoicing at every success, and is happy to show off her skills.” The trio were joined by Ivanova’s son, Roman, who can be seen watching in the window.
Ivanova sees this as a portrait of a family in which “everyone has their own interests and still makes room for one another. There is no, ‘I’m reading here, you’re disturbing me with your jumping’ or, ‘I’m jumping here, can you move the chair or at least not sit in it?’”
Despite the shot’s simplicity, she likes to think that viewers could interpret it in any number of ways – and perhaps imagine their own caption. “‘Grandma, the photo we sent to our relatives isn’t right, I’ll try again’ or, ‘Maria, you’ll be leaving soon ... I’ll take a photo as a souvenir to remember this moment.’”
