Our Thursday series features must-read books from each branch of the art bookshop NADiff. This week's recommendation is "Before They Pass Away." It's featured by Gallery 5, our Shinjuku branch in Tokyo (3-20-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Opera City Tower, 3F). ■Before They Pass Away
■Before They Pass Away

Published in 2013, this photobook won a gold medal at the German Photo Book Award. It serves as a record of photographer Jimmy Nelson's "Before They Pass Away" project, launched in 2009 to document the cultures of endangered ethnic minorities. From tropical to snowy regions, these detailed portraits, showcasing the unique traditional clothing and accessories of tribes that reflect the climate and culture of each region, will be particularly inspiring for readers with an interest in fashion and design. Furthermore, from the photographs that vividly capture the expressions on people's faces and their daily lives, and from the afterword detailing his experiences during his 30-month photography journey, Nelson's personality and passion are evident, as he always maintained a sense of awe for the tribes he photographed and built relationships of trust with them as he continued to photograph them.

The impact of rapid globalization on minority tribes that have maintained their unique traditional cultures is immeasurable. As the title suggests, we can only hope for a future in which "they never disappear."

[Book Information]
Before They Pass Away
Publisher: Pie International
Language: Japanese
Softcover / 280 pages / 280 x 225 mm
Published: December 2016
Price: 4,200 yen