Love Letter to the Earth

Sebastião Salgado’s series ‘Genesis’ will be presented at the Museum of Design in Zurich from 16 November 2018 to 23 June 2019.

Glaciers, densely populated by seals; endless Sahara dunes; mist-covered mountains in the Amazon rainforest: Sebastião Salgado shows the Earth as a creation of overwhelming beauty, making us keenly aware of its preciousness. ‘Genesis’ is a dramatic visual manifesto that is not only deeply moving, but also raises profound questions about how we treat our planet.

In the space of eight years, the French-Brazilian photographer (b. 1944) has undertaken 32 expeditions to some of the last untouched regions on Earth – travelling in small propeller-driven aircraft, on foot, by boat, in kayaks and a tethered balloon, traversing climatically extreme zones and little-explored terrain. His powerful black-and-white images of wild animals, unspoilt landscapes and indigenous peoples vividly convey the magnificence as well as the vulnerability of our natural environment.

The exhibition comprises a total of 245 large-scale photographs, divided into five chapters: Planet South, Sanctuaries, Africa, Northern Spaces and Amazônia. The ‘Genesis’ project is Salgado’s political appeal to our civilisation to protect these primordial parts of the world in all their rich diversity and fascinating beauty.

The exhibition ‘Sebastião Salgado – Genesis’ opens at the Museum for Design in Zurich on 16 November 2018, with an evening reception starting at 19:00. The photographer’s extraordinary series will continue to be on display until 23 June 2019.

For further information visit
Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
Amazonas images