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Yelena Yemchuk was born in Kiev, Ukraine in the year 1970. During her early teens she moved to America with her family as a political refugee. After studying at the Parsons School of Design and the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Yelena went on to create most of the music videos and album covers for famous American rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins.
In 1997, Yelena began shooting fashion photos for magazines like Vogue Italia, Vogue Japan, Harper’s Bazaar, Numero, Dazed and Confused, Another Magazine, Lula Magazine, The New Yorker, W, and Violet. She also headed campaigns for Kenzo, Anna Sui, and Dries Van Noten.
In March of 2011 Yelena released Photography Book “Gidropark”, a collection of photos she took at an amusement park in her hometown Kiev between the years 2005 to 2008. While Yelena spends most of her time in the US, she makes sure to spend a portion of each year in the Ukraine.