Olga Michi

Olga Michi’s Vulnerable project involved photographing indigenous people around the world. Steve Fairclough spoke to her about shooting it…

- Steve Fairclough

With a CV that boasts the titles of photographer, documentary filmmaker, writer and TV presenter, it’s clear that Olga Michi is a woman of many talents. Her latest ‘production’ is the book Vulnerable, which was shot in three key areas of the world – the south (in the Omo Valley in Africa), the east (in southeast Asia) and the north (with the Chukchi people who live in the Chutotka Autonomous Okrug region, partly within the Arctic Circle).

The book shows dozens of portraits of indigenous people shot in their natural habitats, with the objects or adornments that they have (often on their bodies) or chose to include. The title Vulnerable is partly meant to reflect the ways in which the indigenous people of the world are vulnerable – for example, loggers encroaching deep into the Amazon jungle, or rising sea levels threatening the existence of island people. But it’s also meant to prompt a question about our attitudes to indigenous people and how often such people are filed as ‘developing’ when, in fact, they are human beings who happen to come from a different culture and way of life.

What circumstances led to you having an interest in photography?

I have always been eager to learn about the world. A particular interest in studying the cultural diversity of our planet encouraged me not only in the journey around the world, but also in my life. Like many young people, for as long as I can remember, I believed there were different fields beyond the modern Western society.