Kiliii Yuyan is an indigenous Nanai/Hézhè & Chinese-American photographer and filmmaker. He has contributed award-winning features for National Geographic Magazine, TIME, NPR, and the BBC. On assignment, he has fled collapsing sea ice, weathered botulism from fermented whale blood, and found kinship at the edges of the world. Kiliii is also a National Geographic Expeditions Ambassador for the Arctic. He is based out of Seattle.

Kiliii’s mission is to write new narratives of minority and indigenous cultures, especially those who live close to the land. Against a backdrop of ecological upheaval, Kiliii shows us the essential connection to nature that has kept traditional cultures alive for millennia. His work presents an alternative vision of humanity’s greatest treasures—community, culture and the earth.

Selected Press

The Photographic Journal. Interview. By Lou Noble.
Lens Culture. Unbroken Lineage: The Keeper of Knowledge. By Gina Williams.
The Week: Captured Blog. Living Primitively. By Loren Talbot.
World Photo Organization. Remarkable images from the wild edges of our world. By Matthew Oxley.
Feature Shoot. Living Wild with 21st Century Hunter-Gatherers. By Alice Zoo.

Awards & Honors

Eddie Adams XXXI
PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris 2018, Bronze, Feature Story
PDN World in Focus 2017, 1st Place, Photo Essay
PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris 2017, Gold, Press
Critical Mass 2017, Top 50
PDN Photo Annual 2017, Personal Work
National Geographic China 2017, Greatest Photographs of 2017
International Photography Awards 2017, Silver, Deeper Perspective
Communication Arts Annual 2017, Multimedia
Sienna International Photo Awards 2017, HM, Editorial
International Photographer of the Year 2016, Silver, Editorial
Sony World Photo Awards 2016, Shortlist, Still Life
PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris 2015, HM, Press
International Photography Awards 2015, HM, Feature Story, Portrait
Communication Arts Annual 2015, Stock

Speaking Events

On the Sea Ice, We Wear White 2018, George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY
Living Wild 2015, PIX 2015, McCall Hall, Seattle, WA

Exhibitions

2018, On the Sea Ice, We Wear White, Solo, Glazer’s Camera, Seattle, WA
2018, In/Visible: Diversify Photo, Group, Photoville, New York, NY
2018, The Arctic, Group, Albert Embankment, London, UK.
2018, The State of the World, Group, Espace Beaurepaire Gallery, Paris, France
2018, A Contemporary Reference of the Human Condition, Group, Edition One Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
2017, Anthropocene, Solo, Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council, Seattle, USA
2017, Ambient Landscapes, Feature Shoot / Black Eye Gallery, Group, Darlinghurst, Australia

Contact