ABOUT
Photographer Kiliii Yuyan illuminates the stories of the Arctic and human communities connected to the land. Informed by ancestry that is both Nanai/Hèzhé (East Asian Indigenous) and Chinese-American, he explores the human relationship to the natural world from different cultural perspectives. Kiliii is an award-winning contributor to National Geographic Magazine and other major publications.
Both wilderness survival skills and empathy have been critical for Kiliii’s projects in extreme environments and cultures outside his own. On assignment, he has fled collapsing sea ice, weathered botulism from fermented whale blood, and found kinship at the edges of the world. In addition, Kiliii builds traditional kayaks and contributes to the revitalization of northern Indigenous culture.
Kiliii is one of PDN's 30 Photographers (2019), a National Geographic Explorer, a member of Indigenous Photograph and Diversify Photo. His work has been exhibited worldwide and received some of photography's top honors. Kiliii's public talks inspire others about photography, Indigenous perspectives and relationship to land. Kiliii is based out of traditional Duwamish lands (Seattle), but can be found across the circumpolar Arctic much of the year.
Selected Press
Speaking Engagements
- 2021, Photographing the Land at its Extremes, Nikon, Creative Photo Academy, Torrence, CA
- 2021, Keynote: North, First Light Image Festival, Whitehorse, CA
- 2020, Unexpected Arctic, Earthjustice Virtual Journey
- 2020, Keynote: The Camera is My Voice, National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
- 2019, People of the Whale, Museum of Art, Fort Collins, CO
- 2019, Season of the Whale, National Geographic Photography Seminar, Washington D.C.
- 2019, Design Perspectives from Indigenous Culture, AirBnB: Into Thin Air, Seattle, WA
- 2018, On the Sea Ice, We Wear White, Glazer’s Camera, Seattle, WA
- 2018, On the Sea Ice, We Wear White, George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY
- 2015, Living Wild 2015, DPReview PIX, McCall Hall, Seattle, WA
Awards & Honors
- Leica Oskar Barnard Award, 2021, Shortlist
- Epson Pano Awards, 2020, Bronze
- Society of Publication Designers, 2020, Digital Feature Photography, Gold
- International Photography Awards One Shot, 2020, HM
- Nia Tero Storytelling Fellow, 2020
- US Embassy Visiting Artist, UAE: RAK Fine Arts, 2020
- International Photography Awards, 2019, First Place, Press/Feature Story
- PDN Photo Annual, 2019, Feature Story & Personal Work
- PDN’s 30 New and Emerging Photographers, 2019
- PCNW 22nd Juried Exhibition, 2019, First Place
- Best of ASMP, 2018, Series, First Place
- Eddie Adams XXXI, 2018
- Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, 2018, Feature Story, Bronze
- PDN World in Focus, 2017, Photo Essay, 1st Place
- Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, 2017, Press, Gold
- Critical Mass, 2017, Top 50
- PDN Photo Annual, 2017, Personal Work
- International Photography Awards, 2017, Deeper Perspective, Silver
- Communication Arts Annual, 2017, Multimedia
- Sienna International Photo Awards, 2017, Editorial, HM
- Sony World Photo Awards, 2016, Shortlist, Still Life
- PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, 2015, Press, HM
- International Photography Awards, 2015, Feature Story, Portrait, HM
- Communication Arts Annual, 2015, Stock
Selected Exhibitions
- 2020, Rumors of Arctic Belonging, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR
- 2020, The Living Arctic: PDN’s 30, Photoville, New York, NY
- 2020, Lenscratch, Spirit: Indigenous Art, Artists and Issues, Atlanta, GA
- 2020, In/side Out, National Cheng Kung Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2020, Connected Communities, National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
- 2019, People of the Whale, Center for Fine Art Photography, Museum of Art Fort Collins, CO
- 2019, PCNW 22nd Juried Exhibition, Photographic Center NW, Seattle, WA
- 2019, Stories from the Arctic Refuge, Photoville, New York, NY
- 2019, How We See Ourselves: Natives Photograph, Photoville, New York, NY
- 2018, On the Sea Ice, We Wear White, Glazer’s Camera, Seattle, WA