Born in Belarus and raised in New York, Kseniya Us is a manipulator of reality in her art. Her mediums are photography and photo manipulation. Making something new, interesting, and bizarre encompases what makes her art unique to her. Living a fairly ordinary life as an immigrant in New York City, escapism has always been a favorite for her entertainment and art pieces. Her work is inspired by reality benders such as Sean Charmatz, who gives faces and personalities to inanimate objects. Influenced by a fast paced life in the heart of NYC, she seeks to tell the world about the story of us from her point of view. Metropolis is a photo gallery that embodies the everyday life of a New Yorker in a colorful way. In lieu of ordinary street photography, this collection shows our everyday lives and unique struggles in a different way. Using Snapchat stickers to contrast the seriousness of the topic, Metropolis uses those emojis to embody us. From rising homelessness, to Staten Island’s heroin epidemic, to the collapsing MTA, New Yorkers are both disconnected and interconnected in many ways. This gallery is a representation of the New York citizen as an emoji collective.