Artists

Jimmy Nelson is an acclaimed British photographer known for his portraits of indigenous cultures around the world. His work focuses on documenting the lives and traditions of communities often facing the threat of cultural extinction. Nelson’s formative years were spent accompanying his father on geological expeditions and living among rural communities. After a difficult boarding school education in the UK, Nelson set off for Tibet with a newly gifted Zenit B camera. The pictures he took on this two-year trip were published by the English National Geographic and initiated his photographic career. He subsequently worked as a photojournalist and commercial photographer. In 2010, he began working on his iconic photographic project called Before They Pass Away, for which he documented over 35 indigenous tribes, capturing the richness of their traditions and way of life. His 2018 book, Homage to Humanity, continued the previous project. Nelson’s work has been widely exhibited and published.