Gilles Mingasson’s photographs of the Inupiat town of Shishmaref depict a place far removed from New York, yet one that is nonetheless profoundly impacted by simple things we do every day. The ice pack which protects the town and the entire island of Sarichef from storms is forming progressively later each winter, leaving the island’s inhabitants vulnerable to the elements. After learning that these people are among the first climate change refugees, Mingasson was moved to visit and document the rapidly degrading environment. The effects of melting ice are dramatized in photographs of teenagers hopping among the patches of ice that interrupt the calm Chukchi Sea, and a man using the precarious patches as safe passage for his snowmobile. Once the main transport for hunting, snowmobiles have been replaced by boats that can maneuver through the melting icebergs. Storms and weak pack ice have already contributed to a few Inupiat homes falling into the sea. Within the next nine years, their land is expected to become too unstable for habitation, forcing the 600 residents of Shishmaref to relocate.

Gilles Mingasson has exhibited The End of the Shishmaref  in Ecotopia, the second triennial of photography and video at the International Center of Photography, New York, NY, in 2006. The series has also been exhibited at the Noble Peace Center, Oslo, Norway, and the Royal Museum of Fine Ats, Brussels, Belgium. Mingasson’s photography has taken him around the world for editorial, advertising, and personal projects. His clients include National Geographic Books, Newsweek, Fortune, The Smithsonian, Scholastic, Reader’s Digest, Le Nouvel Observateur, Sky, L’Equipe Magazine, VSD, Le Figaro Magazine, Reppublica Delle Donne, Discovery Channel, VH1, HP, Microsoft, Advanced Bionics, Global Education Fund, and UNESCO. He won an American Photography Award in 2005 for his project Latino USA, that explores the immigrant experience and the cultural, political, and economic impact of Latinos. For more information visit www.mingasson.com.