Sebastiao Salgado, Africa

"In the footsteps of courage and catastrophe [...] – a 30-year journey across the dark continent by the world's greatest photojournalist." - The Sunday Times Magazines, London

Sebastião Salgado is one the most respected photojournalists working today, his reputation forged by decades of dedication and powerful black-and-white images of distressed people taken in places where most wouldn’t dare to go. Although he has photographed around the globe, his work most heavily concentrates on Africa, where he has shot more than 40 reportage works over a period of 30 years. From the Dinka tribes in Sudan and the Himba in Namibia to gorillas and volcanoes in the lakes region to displaced peoples throughout the continent, Salgado shows us all facets of African life today. He knows exactly how to grab the essence of a moment and his images artfully teach us the disastrous effects of war, poverty, disease, and hostile climatic conditions. This stunning book brings together Salgado's photos in three parts: the first concentrates on the southern part of the continent (Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia), the second on the Great Lakes region (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya), and the third on the Sub-Saharan region (Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Mauritania, Senegal, Ethiopia). Texts are provided by renowned Mozambique novelist Mia Couto, who describes how today's Africa reflects the effects of colonization as well as the consequences of economic, social, and environmental crises.

 

 

The photographer:
 

Sebastião Salgado began his career as a professional photographer in Paris in 1973 and subsequently worked with the photo agencies Sygma, Gamma, and Magnum Photos. In 1994 he and his wife Lélia created Amazonas Images, an agency that handles exclusively his work. Salgado's photographic projects have been featured in many exhibitions as well as books, including Other Americas (1986), Sahel: l’homme en détresse (1986), Workers (1993), Terra (1997), Migrations (2000), and The Children (2000).

The editor:

 

Lélia Salgado studied Architecture and Urban Planning in Paris. Her interest in photography started in the early 1970s and she moved on to conceiving and designing photography books and organizing exhibitions, numerous of them on Sebastião Salgado. Since 1994 Lélia is director of the press agency Amazonas Images.

The contributing author:

 

Translated in more than 20 languages, Mia Couto is Mozambique’s most celebrated author. His first novel, Sleepwalking Land, was chosen by an international jury as one of twelve best African books published in the 20th century. He lives in Maputo, Mozambique and works as an ecologist.