Jimmy Nelson

James Philip Nelson (born 1967) is an English photographer. He is known for his portraits of tribal and indigenous peoples.

Background and early career James Philip Nelson was born in 1967 in Sevenoaks, Kent. He spent his childhood in Africa, Asia and South America, traveling around with his father, who worked as a geologist for International Shell. At the age of 7, he was sent to Stonyhurst College, a Jesuit boarding school in Lancashire, UK. When he was 16, he developed Alopecia totalis, a condition in which all the hair falls out, which was caused by a culmination of stress and a reaction to malaria medication.

In 1985, at age 17, he left his boarding school and started to trek the length of Tibet on foot. He took a small camera on his trip and photographed his journey, which lasted about two years. Upon return, the collection of pictures he had taken in the formerly inaccessible country were published by the English National Geographic, to wide international acclaim.

Following this journey, Nelson embarked on more trips, documenting a variety of war zones, including Afghanistan, Kashmir, Yugoslavia, Somalia and El Salvador, and started to work as a professional photojournalist, until the age of 24.

Photography

Before They Pass Away In 2010, Nelson started to work on his second book, Before they Pass Away.

He travelled for 3 years and photographed more than 35 indigenous tribes around the world in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the South Pacific, using a 50-year-old 4x5in camera.

Nelson said the project was "inspired by Edward S. Curtis and his great photographs of Native Americans". Nelson remarks that the project is not meant to convey "a documentary truth, but rather [his] own artistic interpretation and a celebration of diversity and beauty."

Nelson borrowed the funds for the project from a Dutch billionaire, Marcel Boekhoorn.

Homage to Humanity In September 2018 Nelson published his third book, Homage to Humanity. The book consist of over 400 photographs of 30 indigenous cultures, interviews with tribal members, infographics on the portrayed locations and cultures, as well as an application which incorporates 360° film material connected to the pictures, behind the scenes videos and background information regarding the travels.

For the creation of his last book, he travelled with an assistant, Stephanie van der Wiel, a fellow photographer whom he met at Leiden's National Museum of Ethnology, where he was presenting an exhibition of material from his first book.

Homage to Humanity is a continuation of Nelson's previous work, but purportedly sets itself apart in its more inclusive nature of its subjects. Through this approach, Nelson aspired to acknowledge the criticism his previous book, Before they Pass Away, generated controversy.

Nelson says, "The foundation has evolved into teaching indigenous peoples' pride. I'm creating many teams to go off around the world and do what I do. We're gathering [pictures, video and other information] and creating a digital fireplace, sort of like a library in the sky, of all this heritage for future generations."

The Foundation's most prominent project involved a collaboration with J. Walter Thompson India and J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam. The campaign opened with a short film, titled Blink. And they're gone., made using more than 1,500 photographs taken by Nelson during his travels. The film took 90 days to edit, and includes images of the Huli Wigmen from Papua New Guinea, the Kazakhs of Mongolia, the Sadhus of India, the Wodaabe from Chad and a number of other cultures. The film was directed by JWT India's chief creative officer, Senthil Kumar in Mumbai, working closely with J. Walter Thompson's global creative lead, Bas Korsten.

Controversy Nelson's work has been criticized for inaccuracies and generalizations. Nelson's project Before They Pass Away came under attack from Stephen Corry, director of Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples' rights. Corry attacked Nelson's work for presenting a false and damaging picture of tribal peoples. Corry maintained that Nelson's pictures bore little relationship either to how the people look now, or to how they've ever appeared. Nelson also received criticism from fellow photographers, such as Timothy Allen, a veteran photographer for the BBC's Human Planet. He states that, "the patronizing and self-aggrandizing narrative behind 'Before They Pass Away' is literally painful to watch." Nelson denies exploiting any of the indigenous communities, and argues that only after gaining trust and understanding of their culture they grant him access.

With his last project, Homage to Humanity, Nelson says he has listened to the criticism. 'Before They Pass Away' sparked what was sometimes quite a positive but otherwise heated conversation... In Homage to Humanity I wanted to give more of a voice to the subjects—their dreams and their opinions and their worldview." Nelson and Adema have three children together. Nelson is based in Amsterdam, where his company Jimmy Nelson Pictures B.V. is located.

Publications