Jin TIAN
Photographer

Jin is a laureate of the Rencontres Photographiques des Amis du Musée Albert-Kahn, class of 2021, and received a grant for his series Curse of the Wind. A history of leprosy in China.

What is your artistic background ?
I am a documentary photographer and I mainly use anthropological methods to create my projects. This study is also linked to my learning path: I did a degree in cinema and I did a master’s degree in sociology and anthropology at university.

How do you see your profession today ?
Compared to the past, the profession of photography today is more difficult. I refer mainly to documentary and reportage photography. Due to the decline of traditional paper media, documentary photography has lost its market and authority. At the same time, many documentary photographers have turned to art and galleries. But the advent of the internet age also gives us freedom.

How do you see yourself in 5 years ? in 10 years ?
When I think about myself, I don't think about time, but I calculate by project. Right now, photography is basically my whole life. In the next 10 years, I would like to have done at least two or three long projects.

Interview conducted in 2021
Photography credit: Julia Grandperret