AMAZÔNIA arrives in Barcelona: a photographic journey to the heart of the world's lungs
Sebastião Salgado's majestic exhibition can be visited at Les Drassanes Reials from 4 December.
From this December, Barcelona will be hosting AMAZÔNIA, one of the most impressive exhibitions of the Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. With more than 200 photographs in black and white, this exhibition takes us to the interior of the Amazon rainforest, portraying its overflowing beauty and the life of its inhabitants with a look that is as poetic as it is committed. The images, drawn from seven years of expeditions, offer a unique view of this natural environment, which today struggles to survive in the face of the many threats that threaten it.
Salgado's photographs alternate imposing landscapes with intimate portraits, capturing the essence of an ancestral world that is in peril. The Amazon rainforest, considered the heart of the world, is home to more than 300,000 indigenous people divided into 169 different ethnic groups. Their way of life, based on a deep respect for nature, is strongly reflected in each image. This is an invitation to reflect on the urgency of preserving both the forest and its people, who are fundamental to the balance of our planet.
The exhibition, curated by Lélia Wanick Salgado, brings to life a sensory universe that goes beyond photography. The images are fused with a soundtrack created by the composer Jean-Michel Jarre, which combines music with natural sounds of the jungle, such as the songs of the eagles and the murmur of the rivers. This dialogue between image and sound creates an immersive experience that connects directly with the spirit of the Amazon.
Beyond its visual beauty, AMAZÔNIA is also a warning cry. Salgado does not seek to expose the direct devastation, but to show the grandeur of this landscape as a reminder of what is at stake. His work leads us to contemplate the Amazon as the world's largest natural laboratory, a region that is home to a large part of the planet's species of flora and fauna and which is crucial in the fight against climate change.
To celebrate this experience, the Symphony Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu will offer a special concert, in which the music of composers such as Philip Glass and Heitor Villa-Lobos will be intertwined with the projection of images selected by Sebastião Salgado himself. The music, performed under the direction of Simone Menezes and with the participation of soprano Camila Provenzale, will bring a new dimension to the artistic vision of Amazonia.
This exhibition, which has already attracted more than 1.5 million people around the world, is much more than an exhibition: it is an invitation to lose ourselves in the vastness of the forest and to rediscover our link with nature. AMAZÔNIA awaits us at Les Drassanes Reials to thrill us, shake us up and remind us that this green lung belongs to all of us.