Daniel Kordan: We must celebrate the vivid colours of our cultures and pass them to next generation

Sharjah: As the world’s quest for modernity and innovation is further intensified, the fifth annual edition of Xposure International Photography Festival (Xposure 2021) has offered an insightful glimpse into the lives of the indigenous tribes of Maasai, Samburu and Buryat living in remote areas of the world, through the lens of famous Russian travel and landscape photographer, Daniel Kordan. 

Speaking at a seminar titled, ‘Indigenous cultures in the modern world’, the lensman talked about how he photographed civilisations in the most remote corners of the earth in order to zoom in on the challenges they face as they choose to stand the ground of their traditional heritage, bring to light their unique way of life, and help the rest of the world understand how these communities have been living in perfect harmony with their natural environment for several generations.

Sharing with the audience how his project came into being, Kordan remarked: “I used to organise photo tours to remote and hard-to-reach locations across various countries and used to mostly shoot the landscape. In the process, I stayed with local communities in these places and soon I realised how beautiful the people were. This is where the idea of my project was conceived.”

The project seeks to inspire people to value their traditional communities, he emphasised.

“I travelled to the remote corners of world and photographed commanding personalities in their traditional attires to represent their settings as authentically as possible. I stay with the communities I shoot for a considerable period of time to be able to document their lives in a befitting way before showing it to the world,” he explained. 

As the audience witnessed moving images shot by the photographer featuring tribal, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities from remote areas – Maasia and Samburu in Kenya, Kazakhs in Mongolia, Buryat in Siberia and tribes of the interiors of Russia including Ingushetia and Caucasus – Daniel raised the very pressing issue of cultural preservation.

“They had almost no food when we went for the shoot, and yet greeted us with everything they had”, Daniel explained talking about his experiences with the Kazakhs from Mongolia. “They have big families who live in very basic conditions, but they are amazing,” he added.

Sifting through compelling pictures taken across deserts, snowclad mountains, villages and dense forests, Daniel, whose wanderlust has taken him to the remotest places on earth, turned the spotlight on the lesser known stories of rich and complex tribal communities which are shrinking due to various reasons. 

One of them, Kordan said, was because, “Most of these people tend to leave their villages and go to cities to earn a living. There they mix with other cultures, and in the process, lose their identities.”

He advised the audience to help preserve cultural traditions. “We must celebrate the vivid colours of our cultures and pass them to next generation,” he urged.

In its fifth edition, the festival is hosting over 50 world-renowned photographers who are conducting various seminars and workshops, alongside displaying their exhibitions at Expo Centre Sharjah until Saturday, February 13.

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© Press Release 2021