Ola Lanko studied sociology at National University in Kiev, photography at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague and Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. In 2012 she graduated at the photography department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.
Lanko uses a systematic and analytical way of thinking, together with a playful visual language as her method to work with photography and explore it as an artistic medium. She believes that in order to get the most from the visual information we are surrounded by, it is necessary to develop a qualitative approach to the process of looking, have a critical attitude towards images and be conscious about the place photography takes in our lives.