‘Amazonia’ by Sebastiào Salgado at The Science Museum

I do like a photography exhibition. Indeed every year I try and make an effort to see the wildlife photography of the year exhibition. Its great. You should go. There is something very powerful about the amazon. When Portuguese colonisers first arrived they called the forest ‘Hell’. In fact many explorers who ventured into the rainforest vanished without a trace. The forest was full of wild animals, Jaguars and insects, snakes that could kill and, often there were tribes who didn’t take very kindly to strangers.

You’d be amazed that such history could be reflected in these stunning landscapes and portraits taken by Sebatiào Salgado. All the photographs are taken in black and white. They vary from dramatic landscapes of the Amazon, to intimate portraits of the tribes living within the depth of the rainforest. When you first enter you are confronted by an enormous landscape. Salgado first wishes to demonstrate the power, the breadth and the dominance of wooded and mountainous landscapes. We journey through mountains of the Amazonia region of Brazil and sweep over waterfalls, its a giddy high. But soon he brings you back down to earth with a graceful little bump. The exhibition is somewhat divided, it sprawls all over the place, much like the Amazon itself. We travel from the lofty heights of the mountainous regions to float down to earth and meet the people who live there. But lets talk about some of the photographs on display, our first stunning landscape to discuss is where the sky darkens over the Amazon river as tropical rain clouds roll in over the Parima Forest Reserve. This photograph has a brilliant display of the ‘flying rivers’ a phenomenon that greatly affects the global weather system, where water is carried and floats high up over the clouds. It means that the Amazon Rainforest is forever submerged in cloud. The day that the whole rainforest can be seen from space, would be cataclysmic for the world. 

Now, as I have earlier said, we travel down to Earth with a pleasant bump. Or a splash, as we find ourselves with the indigenous peoples of Amazonia. We see some very intimate photos with them, which is an astounding feat. Because a lot of these tribes that Salgado is photographing have never had contact with the rest of the world, they have stayed very insular. Naturally, Salgado notes that these tribes were very wary of outsiders, but fascinated by his camera and the technology that he, the social anthropologists and guides brought with them. But in this photograph we see a tribe that is relaxed and at one with their surroundings, they’re fishing in slender canoes along the Pretáo stream. Insider to catch their fish they spread a toxic substance in stagnant water which paralyses the fish. It is, like many other photographs in this exhibitions stunning. The black and white doesn’t necessarily do the environment justice, but it does add a sense of space to the surroundings. The great thing about black and white photography is that its timeless, it could be in the present, five years ago or even a hundred years ago. Who’s to tell?

Now onto some of the more striking portraits that are on display. These are dotted around the exhibition. They’re enclosed in small spaces, that are lined by dark orange walls. These portraits focus in on the people who rely on the amazon rainforest for their survival. The fact that these pictures are clustered together shows the importance of their tribe and the fact that these tribes are secluded, surrounded by rivers and forests. The portrait I would like to draw attention to is this one of a Young Girl named Ino. In her hands is a small parakeet. Indigenous peoples are not so different from us in the sense that they too, like to keep pets. However, the main difference I would say is that the pets are usually the young from the adults they hunt… However, it shows a great trust between man and beast, a harmony with the world around them. This girl, Ino, is decorated in jewellery made form white shells made from white river snails. The necklace goes through her nose and decorates her body. It is a sign of her peoples and heritage. She’s not looking at the camera, in fact she’s ignoring the photographer all together. Her focus is on her pet bird. She has no interest in the outside world. The world which you and I live. All that matters is the natural world around her.

So, then we come to an end of this exhibition. Its a good one. Trust me you should go see it. Even if photography isn’t your thing. But if caring for the environment and learning about our ecosystems is, then you should definitely pop along. The photography is stunning. But I do wish that some of those photographs were in colour just so we could see the full colour and majesty of the Amazon Rainforest. But what I did particularly like was how the exhibition focused on the amount of illegal deforestation going on in indigenous protected areas and government land. But that is not to say that there isn’t hope for the future, this was the pet project of Salgado, it took 20 years but they’ve planted over 2,000,000 trees and turned burnt and bare land into something beautiful and lush. That is something to be truly excited about!

Amazonia is on at the Science Museum until the 20th March 2022