Photographer spends two months documenting the Arctic sailors’ life, earns 2024 Life Framer Series Award
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Photographer spends two months documenting the Arctic sailors’ life, earns Life Framer Series Award for 2024
In an era where the Arctic continues to captivate the imagination of explorers, artists, and poets, Charles Xelot has emerged as a powerful visual storyteller. His project, White Water, has earned him Life Framer’s annual Series Award for 2024. In this article, we bring you Charles’s amazing photos and the story behind them.
White Water: About the project
Pictura Gallery Curators Lisa Woodward and Mia Dalglish selected Charles’s project as this year’s winner. With its treacherous ice and vast, unforgiving landscapes, the Arctic is both muse and adversary in his work. His photographs portray the immense ships that navigate these perilous waters, carrying gas, oil, and building materials. Through his lens, Charles captures the physical magnitude of these vessels and the profound risks involved in their journeys across the ice.
“The Arctic Ocean is a territory where man has no place: here there is no life, only survival,” Charles starts the story of his project. “Since my first trip in 2017, I wanted to make a book of photographs about the men and ships that travel through these icy immensities. It took several years before this project finally saw the light of day.”
“Between October 2021 and May 2022, I travelled on and around the Russian Arctic Ocean. I boarded four ships, visited five ports, and met hundreds of people. I got a shocking, if modest, insight into the life of the sailors in the far north. This book is the story of those voyages and encounters.
The Arctic has been fantasized about by explorers, artists, and poets. This immaculate and deadly vastness has always attracted adventurous spirits, those who wanted to touch the edge of the world, test their own limits, find breathtaking inspiration. Many men and women have given their lives for the thrill of discovery, to be the first to reach these places and make history. Making a new crossing, discovering a new island, or simply surviving the winter are commonplace feats of those who have dared to encounter the great white.”
In White Water, Charles captured the lives of Arctic sailors. Huge ships, symbols of human power, navigate the icy waters, a far cry from romantic exploration. Isolated and routine-bound, these sailors endure the frozen beauty and harshness. Charles’s photos aimed to capture this world’s contrasts: the cozy cabins against the chilling cold, the breathtaking landscapes marred by industrial might. He grappled with the environmental cost of our comforts, a concern distant for the sailors focused on their mission.
Over 56 days, Charles shared meals, stories, and watches with the crew. He documented their contrasting world and a vivid memory: watching a polar bear from the bridge, a moment of human presence in this vast, frozen world.
“Despite the geographical isolation of these regions, people are connected, and major world events reach them,” Charles explains. “At first, it was the Coronavirus that physically disrupted the work of Arctic sailors. Then, on February 24, 2022, the world changed: the war in Ukraine had begun.”
“On board the ships, sailors of all ages and political persuasions rub shoulders with Ukrainians, Russians, and Byelorussians. Normally, cohabitation goes well, and politics do not affect relations. But after February 24, tempers flared and the tension became palpable, with many things left unsaid. Discussions almost always revolved around the same subject, and sailors quickly grouped together by affinity of thought. Some, whose families were directly affected, sank into silence, while others belched, almost happy to see the war finally begin.”
News of the war shattered the peace onboard a ship in the Arctic. As a foreigner, Charles became an unwilling symbol of the conflict. He admits that work became difficult, but the crew prioritized professionalism despite the situation. Despite the war’s impact on land, life aboard the ships remained focused on the daily routine and the ultimate goal: safe arrival.
Who is Charles Xelot?
Charles Xelot was born in France in 1985. For the last few years, he has been exploring the limits of the development of the modern society. He is documenting the relationship between Man and his natural environment and focusing on the impact and consequences of the contemporary way of living.
Like many great photographers I know, Charles started out with something completely different. His official education is in the science field, he discovered his passion for photography later. As a photographic assistant, he began to work with Ahmet Ertug, who initiated him in large format cameras, fine printing and inspired him to produce photo books. Over the years, Charles has collaborated with several art foundations and corporations.
His work has been exhibited widely and published in the British Journal of Photography, Le Figaro magazine, Greenpeace and others. His interest in social and environmental issues has led him to the far corners of the world, while his work gradually evolved from a documentary to a more contemporary style.
Take a look at the remaining White Water photos below, and make sure to find more of Charles’s work on his website. The complete gallery and more information are available on Life Framer website.
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© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
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© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
© Charles Xelot/Life Framer 2024
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