Jimmy Nelson
Special Project:
BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY
Jimmy Nelson © All rights reserved. Himba,-Hartmann Valley, Cafema,Namibia 2011
About Jimmy Nelson
Jimmy Nelson (Sevenoaks, Kent, 1967) started working as a photographer in 1987. Having spent 10 years at a Jesuit boarding school in the North of England, he set off on his own to traverse the length of Tibet on foot. The journey lasted a year and upon his return his unique visual diary, featuring revealing images of a previously inaccessible Tibet, was published to wide international acclaim.
Jimmy Nelson © All rights reserved. Maori, Gisborne Festival, North Island, New Zealand,2011
Soon after, he was commissioned to cover a variety of culturally newsworthy themes, ranging from the Russian involvement in Afghanistan and the ongoing strife between India and Pakistan in Kashmir to the beginning of the war in former Yugoslavia.
In early 1994 he and his Dutch wife produced Literary Portraits of China, a 30 month project that brought them to all the hidden corners of the newly opening People’s Republic. Upon its completion the images were exhibited in the People’s Palace on Tiananmen Square, Beijing, and then followed by a worldwide tour.
From 1997 onwards Jimmy began to successfully undertake commercial advertising assignments for many of the world’s leading brands. At the same time he started accumulating images of remote and unique cultures photographed with a traditional 50-year-old plate camera and awards followed . International exhibitions and acclaim created the subsequent momentum and enthusiasm for the initiation of Before they Pass Away in 2010.
Jimmy Nelson © All rights reserved. Kazakh, Altantsogts, Bayan Olgii, Mongolia, 2011
BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY – THE PROJECT
Between 2010 & 2013 Jimmy Nelson traveled the world to document some of the most fantastic indigenous cultures left on the planet today. He had come to realize that from a life spent travelling that his camera was the perfect tool for making contact and building intimate and unique friendships. Relationships with hither to unknown and understood communities in some of the farther most reaches of the planet. He wanted to discover how the rest of the world is threatening to change their way of life forever. But most importantly, he wanted to create an ambitious aesthetic photographic document that would stand the test of time.
Read the full Article On Israeli Lens Issue #9 Cultural Photography
Jimmy Nelson © All rights reserved. Nenet, Yakim, Brigade 2, Yamal Peninsula, Ural Mountains, Russia, 2011
