Justin Jin: The Zone of Absolute Discomfort; British Journal of Photography.

Monday 2 December 2013

Justin Jin: The Zone of Absolute Discomfort; British Journal of Photography.

Justin Jin is a Hong Kong born photographer now based in Brussels. He is an internationally-renowned photographer who shoots epic projects in the arctic and also specialises in shooting projects about booming Chinese cities. He says of himself, "I can hold my own with vodka-drinking convicts in Russia, shoot the breeze with celebrities in China, and eat raw reindeer brain with nomads in the Arctic. In my 15 years working with some of the world’s best clients, I cross mountains, borders and permafrost to find unique stories."
I came across Justin Jin when browsing BJP online. I was attracted by the article 'Justin Jin: The Zone of Absolute Discomfort'. I was interested in the article as I have an interest in environmental matters and it also reminded me of my anger and sadness regarding fly-tipping in the country side. I see a great deal of this when walking and cycling in Lincolnshire, even in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and nature reserves.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the mines in Arctic Russia and Siberia and the communities that grew out of them were abandoned. There was an immediate environmental crises because the Soviets had no regard for nature but there was also a social crisis because suddenly there were no jobs. This created such problems as divorce, drug use and teenage pregnancies. Justin Jin has been photographing this area and its people for the past six years.
The project was first conceived in 2009 when he was living in Moscow and visited the area with another colleague. The colleague lost interest but Jin went back another five times. Until 2011 he concentrated on documenting the communities but then he discovered that huge pockets of oil and gas were found and the Russians suddenly realised that the Arctic was of strategic importance. At one time mineral extraction was based around the local communities but today Moscow sends in teams of foreign workers who live in gated camps, work shifts and leave. The local communities become 'rotten villages where only the sick and alcoholics remain'.
For hundreds of years this part of Arctic Russia was home to the Nenets, nomadic reindeer herders. Later came descendents of former Soviet prisoners and the rich oilmen wanting to make a large profit. The Soviet government tried to force the Nenets into collective farms or settle them into apartment blocks. Many escaped and continued their nomadic way of life. These are the people that Jin photographed.
He also photographed the urban cities in the far north where the Soviet government had provided accommodation and high salaries to attract workers to the mines. The area bloomed for a while but no regard was paid to the environment and the land became scarred. When photographing the area, Jin describes it as an environmental horror. When the new regime lost interest in the region, things spiralled downwards, both environmentally and socially.
The new era of gas and oil extraction by international companies has further eroded the Nenet lifestyle. In this latest battle for the Nenets there is only one potential winner.
Jin's images are richly saturated colour ones. His photojournalistic style encompasses, landscape, social documentary and portrait genres. Some are graphic and horrifyingly depressing, others, featuring the Nenet people and landscapes, are hauntingly beautiful He has captured in his images and words the horror of what is happening to this region and the lack of care the Rusian regime has for it. There is no wonder organisations such as 'Friends of the Earth' campaign against it and risk imprisonment.

As awful as this story is, Arctic Russia is not on its own. The American Arctic is being treated in a similarly callous manner. There are many, many, environmental disasters in the world and this is why fly-tipping in Lincolnshire saddens me and is why I might consider it for a topic of assignment 3 later in the course.