The exhibition event of the famous Franco-Brazilian photographer unveils for the first time 200 striking images of the Amazon forest and its tribes. A journey to the heart of the largest green lung on the planet, threatened but still inhabited by preserved peoples.
Sebastião Salgado, a major figure in humanist photography, exposes a monumental work devoted to the Amazon. For seven years, he traveled the Brazilian forest, traveled its rivers and shared the daily life of Aboriginal peoples living in harmony with their environment.
These shots, mostly unpublished, reveal an Amazon that is both majestic and fragile. The images capture the purity of intact landscapes and the dignity of isolated communities, often inaccessible to foreigners. “We leave for several days, and everyone has the floor, from the kids to the old tribe”says Salgado. These peoples, although away, are aware of the threats that weigh on their territory.
Threatened peoples
Throughout his expeditions, the photographer met twelve different tribes. There are actually more than 180 in the Amazon, the majority of which have never been contacted. The inexorable advance in deforestation, repeated fires and agricultural expansion jeopardize their ancestral lifestyle.
“We come to seek new production lands for Europe … There is only the Amazon. The others are already exploited”Salgado alert. He recalls that these peoples agree to be photographed not by vanity, but because they hope that the images will contribute to their protection.
The Amazon, lung of the planet
The Amazon forest extends over nine South American countries. It is the largest biodiversity reserve in the world and the most important concentration of fresh water on the planet. Salgado describes it as an “immense aerator”: each tree frees hundreds of liters of water into the atmosphere, playing a central role in the global climate balance.
“By destroying it, we will create the largest ecological imbalance that you can imagine”he warns. The photographer, always committed for environmental causes, sees in the forest a symbol of survival for humanity, even if he retains a lucid look at our species: “I am optimistic for the planet, but not for the human being”.
A poignant testimony
At 81, Sebastião Salgado continues to resonate his voice through his images. More than an exhibition, his work on the Amazon is a call for collective conscience. Far from all miserabilism, his photographs celebrate the raw beauty of nature and the quiet strength of those who live there. “Man is so predatory … We are the only living beings to have schools to learn to kill others. The army is used”he deplores, not without bitterness.
In turn & taxis, the public is invited to follow his gaze, both amazed and worried. An unforgettable immersion in a still preserved world, but whose survival now depends on our gaze … and our choices. Sebastiao Salgado Amazonia Foret Amazonian photos
