At the time of publication, Sebastião Salgado was regarded as one of the world’s most respected photojournalists, having built his reputation over decades through powerful black-and-white photographs of poor and afflicted people in places most of us would be reluctant to visit.
Although he photographed throughout South America and almost everywhere else in the world, his work focused primarily on Africa, where he produced more than forty separate reportages over a period of thirty years. From the Dinka peoples of Sudan and the Himba of Namibia to gorillas and volcanoes in the Great Lakes region and displaced people across the continent, Salgado shows us many facets of life in Africa at the time.
Whether photographing refugees or expansive landscapes, Salgado knew exactly how to capture the essence of a moment so that his images immediately drew viewers in. Artistically, his photographs conveyed the devastating consequences of war, poverty, disease, and harsh climatic conditions.
This book brings together Salgado’s photographs of Africa in three sections. The first focuses on southern Africa (Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia), the second on the Great Lakes region (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya), and the third on the Sahara region (Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Mauritania, Senegal, and Ethiopia).
The accompanying texts were written by the celebrated Mozambican author Mia Couto, who describes how contemporary Africa deals with the effects of colonization and the consequences of economic, social, and environmental crises.
This remarkable book is not only a compelling document about Africa, but also a tribute to its history, people, and natural wonders. Salgado’sAfricareceived theM2-El Mundo People's Choice Awardfor the best exhibition at PhotoEspaña 2007.
Mia Couto
Mia Couto is Mozambique’s most celebrated author. His first bookSleepwalking Landwas selected by an international jury as one of the twelve best African books of the 20th century. He lives in Mozambique and works as an environmental scientist.
Sebastião Salgado
Sebastião Salgado was born in Aimorés, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. A former economist, Salgado began his career as a professional photographer in Paris in 1973 and subsequently worked for the photo agenciesSygma,GammaandMagnum Photos. In 1994, Lélia Wanick Salgado and Sebastião Salgado foundedAmazonas Imagesan agency that exclusively represents Salgado’s work. Salgado traveled the world for photo reportages published in numerous international magazines and books.
At the time, exhibitions of his work traveled around the world. Salgado had received numerous prestigious photography awards in recognition of his achievements and was also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Since 1991, Lélia and Sebastião had worked together to restore a small part of Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest in the Rio Doce valley; there they foundedInstituto Terraa nature reserve and environmental research center. At the time, Salgado’s photography project Genesis was a series of black-and-white photographs of landscapes, nature, and human societies around the world, a search for nature in its most original form.
Africa- Sebastião Salgado (Salgado, Lélia (ED) Couto, Mia)
Pages: 336
Price: € 57.00
Language: English
Publisher: Taschen/Librero
ISBN: 9783822856215
