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He borrows small boats or helicopters to crisscross the Brazilian Amazon in order to capture all the magnificence of the wilderness and the fragility of its ecosystem that Indian communities struggle to preserve on their ancestral lands.
According to the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, it is forbidden to approach indige- nous tribes who are the only ones allowed to enter and leave the forest. Still, Salgado has managed to photograph tribes about whom it has only been known for a few years. The Amazon is not only an invaluable natural heritage, but also has an incredible cultural wealth with its three hundred different peoples, their languages, their traditions and their rituals.
Jean-Michel Jarre has created music for this exhibition that uses the sounds of the Amazon, capturing on site the rustling of trees, the cries of animals, the songs of birds, waterfalls, rivers and rain. Music was also a common thread for Salgado because the Indians sing very often, except during the hunt because the silence then takes on all its importance.
The experience is immersive, as it is presented in spaces reminiscent of the «ocas», the dwellings of the natives in the heart of the jungle. The visitors’ route follows in the footsteps of the photographer discovering the landscapes and tropical storms to then focus on the local populations.
Photo © Sebastião Salgado/Contrasto Ashaninka family. State of Acre, Brazil, 2016