Julien Chatelin: Biography

After graduating with a BFA in photography from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, Julien Chatelin returned to his native France in 1992 and began covering issues surrounding the postcommunist transition in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. His work was particularly focused on turmoil that broke out in the newly independent states in the Caucasus, documenting the conflicts in Abkhazia, Chechnya, and producing several features on Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

In 1994 Chatelin joined REA press agency in Paris, where he was assigned to cover social issues in France, such as the emergence of crack cocaine in Paris, unemployment, homelessness, emigration, and the problems of suburban ghetto towns.

Chatelin later joined Icône, a newly created agency, and began working on a series of stories on nations struggling for statehood. This took him to the Caucasus, Kosovo, Western Sahara, Kurdistan, and Tibet.

In 2000 he co-founded the documentary photography magazine de l'air, which has received accolades in the photography and design world. Chatelin's work has been featured in numerous publications, including Paris Match, Figaro Magazine, Marie Claire, VSD, Le Monde 2. He is working on a project on the polarization of Israeli youth.