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Culture

Q: How did you start with photography?
Photography and I is a rather unusual
relationship. It comes and goes, but looking
back, I see it has perhaps been a connecting
thread through my life. My grandfather was
an amateur photographer, and he initiated me
to it. When my parents saw my keen interest,
they bought me my first camera when I was
nine years old. I never had a formal education
in photography. It was just my passion.

It is interesting how it comes to me, then it goes
away. When I graduated from university, I set
up a business that was related to photography.
It was a shop developing photos, selling
cameras etc. It was in fact a very successful
business in Youkuti, and through my efforts, it
had become a very well-known company.
As I said, at a certain point in my life, I
decided to go to Australia, and while being
“The World in Faces” – a hymn to the there I continued taking photos, just for
pleasure. Then one day, I made a big decision
people of the world and decided to travel around the world. It was
about 15 years ago.

“My message that I want to convey is that, It had taken 6 months to produce these 170 So, I left Australia, basically as a backpacker,
whatever culture, whatever we are, we are all high quality XL-size photo portraits. The and started on my tour around the world. The
the same human beings wherever you go. In the work was carried out by Khimushin himself first year I travelled nonstop. I was in India,
media they try to create a difference, but we are in his printing lab in Moscow. We were lucky Tibet, all-over South-East Asia, and then I
all the same at the end of the day!” to meet with Alexander Khumushin, before continued. So for 15 years now I have travelled
Interview with Alexander Khimushin, he and the exhibit went off to Berlin where the nonstop. It was only the last couple of years
photographer, ethnoloisty, blogger and Berliners will have their chance to see these that I did not travel so much because of this
journalist impressive photos. So, Alexander, the floor is exhibit that you have seen. Before that I was to travel reporting, and all of a sudden I
yours. most of the time on the road somewhere. became a popular blogger there. Every time
For weeks, the beautiful photo exhibit The When I started to travel, the first thing I I published something, my article was on the
World in Faces, has been a delight for the eyes Q: Could you tell us a little about yourself? thought to do was to take my camera with me, front page. Then after sometime, I felt like
of every visitor to the E-building at the United I come from Yakutia, one of the coldest places and I have been photographing ever since. doing something different.
Nations headquarters in Geneva. The exhibit in Russia. In the winter is can be up to -50 At first it was it was a blog about my travels,
consists of 170 high resolution, extra-large degrees Centigrade. People still work and about different cultures, but not only, more When you travel extensively you see a lot of
photo portraits of indigenous people, taken the children go to school. In the summer like “travel style”. My idea of travel was not to different countries, different cultures, different
by Alexander Khimushin himself during his sometimes up to 40 degrees. My coldest go to the tourist places. I love to go to places landscapes, and at some point, you say, “OK
numerous travels all over the world. You could winter experience was 62 degrees centigrade where few persons before me have visited, one I have been there.” So, I started to question
see Indigenous people from Siberia such as below zero. might say areas untouched by “civilization”. myself about the purpose of it all. I could not
Nganasan people, Africans, Asians… and in explain it, it’s like I had an addiction to travel.
these restriction times, it made us dream and I now live in Moscow but before that I lived Q; If I understand you right, you take At the same time, you have lost this feeling of
travel far away. for many years in Australia. One day, I portraits of people? novelty.
decided that I would like to go to Australia. As I just explained, it was more travel
When talking about the exhibit, Khimushin It was just my dream to go there, and so I photography. In the beginning I shared it Then one day, looking through my
said, “The photos are all of Indigenous People ended up there. During the 10 years I lived with my friends, a blog over the internet. photographs for my next article for this TV
from all over the world, whose portraits I took in Australia, I was never back in Russia, Then the blog became very popular, and I channel, I found several interesting portraits.
all over the last 10 years that I’ve been working I spent my time travelling around the was invited to write for one of the Russian As you can imagine, I have a huge amount of
on this photo project.” world. TV channels. They had a website dedicated photographs in my archives. Then I decided

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