Norilsk: Otherworldly photos of an Arctic city

Chernyshova’s mother lived above the Arctic Circle as a child, making the photographer keen to explore what it was like to live in such extreme conditions. In this video, she explains how it felt to live in total darkness – and total daylight. (Credit: Elena Chernyshova/Camera: Andrey Lapidus/Edit: Paul Wheeler/Producer: Fiona Macdonald)

“The main idea was to talk about the adaptation to this environment,” says Chernyshova in this video. She describes how inhabitants of Norilsk have sun lamps, and cultivate plants, to counteract the harsh winters. (Credit: Elena Chernyshova/Camera: Andrey Lapidus/Edit: Paul Wheeler/Producer: Fiona Macdonald)

“Some sources say that during 20 years of existence of these camps, around 500,000 people passed through them,” says Chernyshova in this video. (Credit: Elena Chernyshova/Camera: Andrey Lapidus/Producer: Fiona Macdonald)

Norilsk has no ground links with the rest of the world. Chernyshova describes its isolation in this video. (Credit: Elena Chernyshova/Camera: Andrey Lapidus/Producer: Fiona Macdonald)

In this video, Chernyshova talks about ‘ghost buildings’ – as well as buildings that have been abandoned due to the melting of permafrost. (Credit: Elena Chernyshova/Camera: Andrey Lapidus/Producer: Fiona Macdonald)

Chernyshova explains why even big families continue to live in ‘Gostinka’, many of which are just 12 sq m in size. (Credit: Elena Chernyshova/Camera: Andrey Lapidus/Producer: Fiona Macdonald)

Although data on pollution levels is varied, “there is a strong influence on the health of people,” says Chernyshova in this video. (Credit: Elena Chernyshova/Camera: Andrey Lapidus/Producer: Fiona Macdonald)