"I would like everyone to stand by us to protect the Amazon." Sebastião Salgado made his debut with these words at the presentation of his exhibition "Amazônia" which, from 1 October to 13 February 2022, will be exhibited at the Maxxi in Rome with the extraordinary binaural soundtrack created by Jean-Michel Jarre in which the sounds of the forest , the roar of the water, the songs of
the birds and the sounds of the other inhabitants of the Amazon melt and envelop the visitors thus allowing a unique experience, as if they were really immersed in the thick of the Amazon rainforest. The curator of the exhibition, Lélia Wanick Salgado, companion of life and ideals of the great photographer, presents a collection of more than 200 black and white images selected from the thousands taken in the six years in which Lélia and Salgado visit and explore the Amazon and its inhabitants. An ecological manifesto that denounces the havoc that is taking place in the green lung of the Earth but which also aims to make known realities that much of the world ignores. In the protected areas, where indigenous tribes still live, nature has remained intact, Salgado shows us a powerful and impetuous Amazon and brings us closer to a magical world, still uncontaminated and linked to the cycles of nature, a world that we must preserve.
The intense shots that the great Brazilian photographer dedicates to the indigenous community, custodian of ancient knowledge, show us proud and aware tribes. "Women in the Amazon are very active", says Salgado, "because they have realized that they are the true custodians of indigenous culture."