We are pleased to present images by world-renowned photographer and activist Sebastião Salgado.
Spanning fifty years and five of his most influential series, the exhibition pays tribute to the artist-activist’s unique ability to chronicle the world around us with compassion, integrity and artistry. On view are striking black-and-white prints from his most iconic series, including Amazônia, Genesis, Kuwait, Workers and Migrations.
Born in Brazil in 1944, Salgado began his career as a professional photographer in 1973 in Paris. For more than fifty years, he has made it his life’s work to document humankind and nature, traveling to more than 100 countries for his photographic projects. Breaking down barriers, he lives with his subjects for weeks, an approach he describes as photographing from inside the circle. Within a single frame, he captures the resilience of the human spirit and the beauty of the natural world.
A solo exhibition of Salgado’s work featuring images from Amazônia is on view at the National Museum of Singapore, November 22, 2024, until March 2, 2025.
FEATURED SERIES
Genesis
The outcome of an eight-year global odyssey to capture nature in its original state, this landmark series comprises hauntingly beautiful photographs of landscapes, wildlife and ancient civilizations untouched by modern society. Beginning in 2004, Salgado made more than thirty-two trips to document remote realities and unspoiled nature around the world, from colossal icebergs of Antarctica to Africa’s native animals in Kafue National Park in Zambia. Although these images may be photojournalistic in nature, technically and compositionally, they stand on their own as masterful works of art.
Amazônia
Salgado’s most recent and personal project to date was initiated to raise awareness of the Amazon and its indigenous populations. Over a period of decades, he traveled deep into the heart of the forest to create a visual archive as the region continues to face threats from cattle and soybean farming, logging, mining, dam building and climate change. Salgado, who has been engaging with native tribes of the region since the mid-1980s, immersed himself in the daily lives of indigenous people such as the Yanomami, Yawanawá and Zo’é. The resulting images are infused with empathy and respect.
Migrations
The series, photographed over seven years, documents the mass displacement of people across thirty-five countries as a result of social, political, economic and environmental disparities. These powerful images lay bare some of the bleakest moments of modern history. Despite having been photographed thirty years ago, the series still resonates today.
Kuwait
Shot in 1991 as the Gulf War drew to a close, this series chronicles the raging oil-well fires ignited by Saddam Hussein’s forces as they retreated from Kuwait. Considered one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in history, it took nearly eight months and the heroic efforts of firefighters from around the world to contain the towering infernos. As their efforts progressed, Salgado, on assignment from The New York Times Magazine, documented the disaster firsthand.
Workers
Salgado’s first truly global project, the series offers a visual archaeology of the Industrial Revolution, telling stories of firefighters in Kuwait’s oil fields, fishermen in western Sicily and gold miners at Serra Pelada, Brazil. With images of arresting beauty, Salgado affirms the dignity and fortitude of working men and women, especially those from marginalized communities who face the most dangerous conditions.
ABOUT SEBASTIÃO SALGADO
Sebastião Salgado was born in 1944 in Brazil. He lives in Paris, France. Having studied economics, Salgado began his career as a professional photographer in 1973 in Paris. He worked with various agencies, including Sygma, Gamma and Magnum Photos, until 1994, when he and Lélia Wanick Salgado, his wife, formed Amazonas Images, created exclusively for his work.
Salgado’s work has been the subject of many books, including Other Americas (1986), Sahel: l’homme en détresse (1986), Sahel: el fin del camino (1988), Workers (1993), Terra: Struggle of the Landless (1997), Migrations: Humanity in Transition and The Children: Refugees and Migrants (2000), Africa (2007), Genesis (2013), The Scent of a Dream (2015), Kuwait, A Desert on Fire (2016), GOLD (2019), and Amazônia (2021). Touring exhibitions of this work have been and continue to be presented throughout the world. In 2013, the book De ma terre à la Terre (From my land to the planet), a narrative account of Salgado’s life and career was published. In 2014, the documentary film The Salt of the Earth, directed by Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, was released.
Sebastião Salgado has been honored with numerous distinctions and photographic prizes. He is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In April 2016 Salgado was elected member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France, for the seat previously occupied by Lucien Clergue. In 2021, he received The Praemium Imperiale Award, Japan Art Association, Japan. In 2024, Salgado was the recipient of The Sony World Photography Organization’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award.
Lélia Wanick Salgado and Sebastião Salgado have worked tirelessly since the 1990s on the restoration of a portion of the Atlantic Forest in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In 1998 they succeeded in turning this land into a nature reserve and created the Instituto Terra, a non-governmental organization dedicated to reforestation, conservation, environmental education and sustainable rural development. By planting native trees, they have initiated environmental recovery, improving the quality of life of communities and driving social transformation in the Rio Doce basin in southeastern Brazil. Learn more
