A recent interview with the Author of The World In Faces photo Project, Alexander Khimushin (Александр Химушин, “Мир В Лицах”) by Number#1, a leading regional newspaper from Ulan Ude, the capital of Buryatia region of Russia.
An Interview in Buryatia, Russia with Alexander Khimsuhin, the author of The World In Faces photo project
Alexander Khimushin from The World In Faces project travels alone for half a year across the most remote corners of Siberia to take portraits of ethnic minorities, including Evenki.
To take portrait of real Evenki reindeer herders I had to travel deep into the middle of nowhere in Siberia! The story is already almost legendary by now! At first there was a grader dirt road, that was built some years ago by artisan gold miners. After that, at some point I a usual took a turn to a “taiga “road”, a forest glade. As the saying goes, he further you get, the harder the going. My SUV turned into an icebreaker, as I had to cross about ten frozen streams and rivers. Could not do it on the speed, thin ice was constantly breaking down and the car each time was sinking into the water, a ditch or into a swamp, where every time there was a chance to get stuck. If I had to go for help, there’s no one for many kilometers around. At the next crossing ice floes broke the front bumper, it’s deformed and went deep, wheels were rubbing it and could not rotate properly. I coulnot bend the bumper back at the site. Fortunately, tired of waiting for me to come, the herders came to look for me, they arrived on an old Russian military grade SUV – UAZ. I had to leave the car in the forest and continue the journey with them. A couple of times, UAZ stuck right in the middle of the river, with stopped engine. reindeer man were jumping in waist-long rubber boots in the icecold water, throwing bouldes to break the ice. But even our legendary UAZ could not overpower the last river crossing. The last part of the way up to the tents in which they live in taiga, we were walking by the river on thin ice. And, finally, through the middle of the river, still unfrozen, my photo equipment first, and then myself, were transferred on the shoulders of the herdes. That is how I got there!