In April 2014 we grabbed the chance of a few days in Venice (Rhys & Marion) after a working visit to our Bolognese clients, Yummy Italy… only an hour by train from Bologna so it would have been rude not to. It turns out that our timing was perfect because Sebastião Salgado’s epic new exhibition ‘Genesis’ was in town [Casa dei Tre Oci, Giudecca, Venice].
The scale of Genesis is truly epic – bibilical even – with over 200 stunning prints on display, featuring shots from 32 countries from all 5 continents, taken over 8 years. Salgado planned the project to be a photographic homage to our planet in its natural state: “In Genesis, my camera allowed nature to speak to me. And it was my privilege to listen”
Salgado’s desire to go back to the origins of the planet lead to over 30 trips by foot, light aircraft, boats and hot air balloons to some of the most extreme places on the planet – those places which “have so far, escaped the imprint of modern society’. His aim is to present the beauty and majesty of these locations in order to protect them for future generations. Landscapes from the deserts of Africa to the frozen world of Antartica, to the jungles of South America sit alongside wildlife shots capturing animals across the globe in their natural habitats. The third and in some ways most affecting shots are the intimate portraits of indigenous people with whom Salgado lived for many months to capture the truth of their life in harmony with nature.
The images are all shot in stunning monochrome, with a breathtakingly beautiful range of tones on show that are reminiscent of the virtuoso work of Ansel Adams, and his way with light recalls the skills of the Old Master painters like Rembrandt. Curated by Lélia Wanick Salgado, Sebastião’s wife, the exhibition is divided into five geographic ‘chapters’ : Planet South, Sanctuaries, Africa, Northern Spaces, Amazonia and Pantanal.
Salgado describes Genesis as ‘My love letter to the planet’ and I defy anyone seeing these immense works not to be touched by them, especially the works that feature isolated tribes from the Amazon, Papua New Guinea and the desert tribes of Africa. In them we see societies who’s lives show simultaneously a million degrees of separation from our modern western ones, whilst at the same time, showing us the essence (or quintessence) of homo sapien, begging the questions – have we progressed at all, what have we lost and how can we learn?
Salgado has long been a favourite of mine – he came to my attention whilst studying for my degree in photography in the late 80’s. He favours long-term projects which all document humanity and their relationships with the environment. Before Genesis his stand out works were ‘Workers’ from 1993 documenting manual workers across the globe and ‘Migrations’ from 2000 which focussed his lens on migration due to poverty, natural disaster, famine and environmental change.
Our trip to Venice was great – who cannot be charmed by the famed floating city with its stunning architecture and artwork – but definitely the cherry on the top was Genesis. I’d go again today and happily spend all day getting lost in these photographs. For me, Salgado is the master… and Genesis is undoubtebly his masterpiece. If you only see one photographic exhibition ever, make it Genesis.
Links
Webber Design Pinterest board of images from Genesis: http://www.pinterest.com/webberdesign/sebastiao-salgado-
genesis-images/
Buy the book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sebasti%C3%A3o-Salgado-GENESIS-Sebastiao-
Salgado/dp/3836538725
Salgado on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebasti%C3%A3o_Salgado
Salgado TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/sebastiao_salgado_the_silent_drama_of_photography?
language=en
Follow him on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SebastiaoSalgado
WANT TO BUY A SALGADO PRINT? (UPDATE – 17/2/2015)
The folks over at www.artsy.net have a huge selection of Salgado prints (and works by many other artists) available from galleries worldwide. There are many images from the GENESIS project but also many older works. Check out the range of gorgeous prints at https://www.artsy.net/artist/sebastiao-salgado/works and if anyone has spare cash then Webber Design ltd will gratefully accept any Salgado prints to decorate our studio wall (you can’t blame us for trying!).