Nicola Ducati's Photographic Journey Among the Nenets of Yamal

Italian travel photographer Nicola Ducati (born 1973 in Trento, where he currently lives) spent ten days living with Nenets families on the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia, Russia, documenting their nomadic reindeer herding lifestyle and animist traditions. The Nenets, a Samoyedic-speaking ethnic group, migrate constantly across the frozen tundra following their herds, living in portable chum tents. Ducati's series "Shades of White" captures their adaptation to extreme cold, their use of reindeer fur clothing (malitsa/parka for men, yagushka for women), and their special breed of Samoyed dogs. The Nenets have dozens of words for white and a secret second name used only by shamans in emergencies. Ducati also met Rodion, a young Nenet studying at university who returns twice a year to help his parents during migrations, representing a new generation balancing tradition with modern environmental activism. The Yamal Peninsula, a key energy region, faces threats from climate change and resource extraction. The reportage was published on Artribune in March 2022.