Mika Sperling was born in Norilsk, Russia. She grew up in Germany, in a family of ten.

In her work, she focuses on narrative portraits. During her studies, she began to work on a project about the ethnical-religious group of Russian Mennonites she used to be part of until the age of thirteen. As she spent more time in the community, questions arose about her own identity and together with the interviews she took, the project developed a reflection of her own fears and thoughts. Today four of her sisters are members of Brethren Churches.

“Brothers and Sisters” was among the Finalists of the LensCulture Portrait Awards 2015 and won the European Photography Award in 2016. She was fortunate to be nomina­ted for the Joop Swart Masterclass 2015 and was one of the participants at Eddie Adams Workshop in Jeffersonville, New York in 2015.

Mika is currently based in San Francisco, pursuing a MFA in Photography at the San Francisco Art Institute.