Elyor Nematov will document the experience of Kyrgyz labor migrants traveling to and working in Russia and the impact of their absence has on their families who remain in Kyrgyzstan. Nematov’s goal is to reveal the underlying social, economic, and human rights issues surrounding forced migration, for both the receiving country (Russia) and the sending country (Kyrgyzstan).
Nematov, an Uzbek citizen living in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, currently works as a freelance photojournalist and conducts documentary photography workshops, training students to produce stories relevant to Central Asia. Previously, he worked as photo editor for Kloop Media and as a photographer and reporter for business and sports magazines in both Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Nematov attended master photography classes with Nadia Sheremetova, Shaukat Boltaev, and Umida Akhmedova. In 2008 Nematov’s work was selected for the group show, "Photographers of Uzbekistan: Culture and Traditions of Central Asia” at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia, and in 2007 for the group show, “All are Different, All are Equal: Traditions and Tolerance in Bukhara" at the Tashkent House of Photography in Uzbekistan. His first solo show, "Children of Bukhara: We are All the Flowers of One Garden," was held that same year at the French Cultural Center in Tashkent. Nematov participated in Tashkent’s 3rd International Biennale in 2005 and won 1st place in the Central Asian photography contest "People and the Help the Environment" organized by IREX.