Home in an Unfriendly Place_ a Photo Portrayal of Life in the City of Norilsk, Close to the Polar Circle _ Passepartout _ Bianca Olivia Nita

Home in an unfriendly place: a photo portrayal of life in the city of Norilsk, close to the polar circle | Passepartout | Bianca Olivia Nita

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Home in an unfriendly place: a photo portrayal of life in the city of Norilsk, close to the polar circle

Home in an unfriendly place: a photo portrayal of life in the city of Norilsk, close to the polar circle

Here it is: Norilsk photographed by Russian photographer Elena Chernyshova. Youve probably

never heard of the city, and theres no particular reasons you should have. Its list of

achievements include being the 7th most polluted city in the world. Thats no surprise, Norilsk is

a mining city, the closest to the polar circle. Its mines and metallurgical factories were

constructed by prisoners of the Gulag. All together, theres no happy story there, and yet, theres

something charming in these photos looking into life there and, in Chernyshovas words, looking

at human adaptation to extreme climate, ecological disaster and isolation. I love the photos,

their details, hidden symbols and atmosphere. But life there must be really tough.

There are more than 170.000 people living in Norilsk and more than 60% of them are involved in

industrial processes. Read toxic processes. The average temperature is -10C, reaching lows of

-55C in winter, when for two months the city is plunged into polar night. And yet life seems to go

on, kids learn to play the violin and do gymnastics, people meet the sun in the solarium and

devote their free time to alternative ways to be in touch with nature. They make a home out of an

unfriendly place.

Posted:December 22,

2014

Tags:documentary photography

Elena Chernyshova

Gulag

North Pole

photography

photojournalism

real life story

Russia

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Not your usual family picture: portraits of farm animals

Oversized: surreal photos of animals in the middle of the

city reminding they used to be welcome there too

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Taxi (2015, directed by Jafar Panahi)

Yesterday I ran through the cold rain and arrived soaking wet at the

Movies That Matter Festival to see Jafar Panahis new film, Taxi.

Panahi has a 20 year ban on making movies in his []

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the North of Mongolia and they domesticated reindeer but the []

Photos in February: my commitment to search for visual details

in my own routine

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Home in an Unfriendly Place_ a Photo Portrayal of Life in the City of Norilsk, Close to the Polar Circle _ Passepartout _ Bianca Olivia Nita