Kiliii Yuyan

Standing on the sea ice, high above the Arctic Circle, I cut myself a sliver of raw frozen caribou and listen to the quiet stories of the Iñupiaq family who hunted it. Through frostbitten air, they speak of caribou, whales and family as though they are one and the same. That understanding of the implicit connection between the human and nature is what I am always seeking my camera.

Kiliii Yuyan is an indigenous Nanai photographer and writer whose award-winning work has been published by The Nature Conservancy, Pacific Standard, Der Spiegel, National Geographic Traveler China, and been exhibited around the world.  On assignment, he has fled collapsing sea ice, weathered botulism from fermented whale blood, and found kinship at the edges of the world. 

Kiliii’s mission is to understand and promote the lessons of minority and subsistence cultures– especially those who live close to the land. Against a backdrop of ecological upheaval, Kiliii shows us the essential connection to nature that has kept traditional cultures alive for millennia. His work presents an alternative vision of humanity’s greatest treasures– community, culture and the earth.