Nelson Navin was born in 1971 on Reunion island. He is a free-lance photographer and a historian. He made a thesis on public opinion and started photography while studying. He participated to the sixth African photography meetings in Bamako in 2005 and received the national prize "Culture-ActionS" in 2006 for the "Sot la mer" project, whose aim was to invite the audience to express its own way to perceive the world. He founded the APOROS association and co-founded the eponymous collective. He led many collect projects, among them a work on hospital on Reunion island with David Lemort in 2010.

Any life is subjective

Both history and photography pursue objectivity. But neither history nor photography can establish the truth, for there is no real truth. Any of us has his own way to perceive and to apprehend the world. We only can build reality and give it some meaning by exchanging experiences and sharing knowledge about the world. That is why photography is subjective. It helps us to apprehend the world in its whole diversity and complexity. There are many ways to perceive the world. Witch is the best one, that is the question. Besides, as life is movement, no truth can stand for being eternal.
One may then wonder about the necessity to understand past times or to take pictures of present times.
To tell the truth, that aim is essential. But one must know that struggling against miseducation, -against the chaos of the world and also against one's own weakness is the most important. One must then remain honest, obstinate and open-minded at the same time. One should also be curious and attentive about other's emotions. Seeing without emotions nor understanding is of no interest. What worths is a truth that gives us a meaning. One cannot practice photography or history without emotion. The essential is missing if we do not feel moved or involved while shooting.