Sebastião Salgado Collector’s Edition – “Genesis” – April 2013

Sebastião Salgado, Genesis, 2013.

Raised on a farm in Brazil, Salgado possessed a deep love and respect for nature; he was also particularly sensitive to the ways in which human beings are affected by their often devastating socio-economic conditions. Of the myriad works Salgado has produced in his esteemed career, three long-term projects stand out: Workers (1993), documenting the vanishing way of life of manual laborers across the world, Migrations (2000), a tribute to mass migration driven by hunger, natural disasters, environmental degradation and demographic pressure, and this new opus, Genesis, the result of an epic eight-year expedition to rediscover the mountains, deserts and oceans, the animals and peoples that have so far escaped the imprint of modern society—the land and life of a still-pristine planet. “Some 46% of the planet is still as it was in the time of genesis,” Salgado reminds us. “We must preserve what exists.” The Genesis project, along with the Salgados' Instituto Terra, are dedicated to showing the beauty of our planet, reversing the damage done to it, and preserving it for the future.

Over 32 trips—traveled by foot, light aircraft, seagoing vessels, canoes, and even balloons, through extreme heat and cold and in sometimes dangerous conditions—Salgado created a collection of images showing us nature, animals, and indigenous peoples in breathtaking beauty. Mastering the monochrome with an extreme deftness to rival the virtuoso Ansel Adams, Salgado brings black-and-white photography to a new dimension; the tonal variations in his works, the contrasts of light and dark, recall the works of Old Masters such as Rembrandt and Georges de La Tour. On the earth is instilled a glistening, textured fabric so intricate in its weave that even the most finite details seem to extend to infinity.

What does one discover in Genesis? The animal species and volcanoes of the Galápagos; penguins, sea lions, cormorants, and whales of the Antarctic and South Atlantic; Brazilian alligators and jaguars; African lions, leopards, and elephants; the isolated Zoé tribe deep in the Amazon jungle; the Stone Age Korowai people of West Papua; nomadic Dinka cattle farmers in Sudan; Nenet nomads and their reindeer herds in the Arctic Circle; Mentawai jungle communities on islands west of Sumatra; the icebergs of the Antarctic; the volcanoes of Central Africa and the Kamchatka Peninsula; Saharan deserts; the Negro and Juruá rivers in the Amazon; the ravines of the Grand Canyon; the glaciers of Alaska... and beyond. Having dedicated so much time, energy, and passion to the making of this work, Salgado likens Genesis to “my love letter to the planet.”

Details:
The Collector’s Edition, designed and edited by Salgado’s wife and partner Lélia Wanick Salgado, features exquisitely reproduced large-format images arranged not by theme or region but conceived as a portfolio that takes beholders on a journey around the globe, immersing them in Salgado’s vision, allowing him to see the world as he does—allowing them, perhaps, to see how life makes sense, just as Salgado did the first time he peered through a lens.

Medium: Hardcover, 2 vols. with bookstand designed by Tadao Ando,
Size: 46,8 x 70 cm, 704 pages
Expected release date: April 2013.
This Collector’s Edition is limited to 2,500 copies.
Also available in 5 Art Editions each limited to 100 copies.

The Sebastião Salgado Collector's Edition and Art Editions are available at Taschen here

The world premiere of Sebastião Salgado: Genesis will open at the Natural History Museum in London on April 11, 2013 and is supported by Vale. The exhibition builds on the Museum’s reputation as the home of the planet’s best nature photography.

Worldwide venues for the Genesis exhibition:

  • The Natural History Museum, London, UK - April 11 through September 8, 2013
  • The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada - May 4st through September 2, 2013
  • Ara Pacis Museum, Rome, Italy - May 9 through September 3, 2013
  • Jardim Botanico, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil - May 28 through August 25, 2013
  • Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland - September 21, 2013 through January 12, 2014
  • La Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Paris, France - September 25, 2013 through January 5, 2014
  • SESC Belenzinho, São Paulo, SP, Brazil - September - November 2013

Price Collector's Edition: € 3,000
Price Art Editions: € 8,500 each

These Sebastião Salgado Collector's Edition and Art Editions are available at Taschen

There are also 5 Art Editions:

Sebastião Salgado, Two Mursi women, Mago National Park, near Jinka, Ethiopia, 2007-2013.Art Edition A - No. 1-100
Two Mursi women, Mago National Park, near Jinka, Ethiopia, 2007
Medium: Gelatin silver print (unframed)
Size: 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in.)

Sebastião Salgado, North of the Ob River, Yamal Peninsula, Siberia, Russia, 2011-2013.Art Edition B - No. 101-200
North of the Ob River, Yamal Peninsula, Siberia, Russia, 2011
Medium: Gelatin silver print (unframed)
Size: 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in.)

Sebastião Salgado, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA, 2010-2013.Art Edition C - No. 201-300
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA, 2010
Medium: Gelatin silver print (unframed)
Size: 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in.)

Sebastião Salgado, Marine iguana, Galápagos, Ecuador, 2004-2013.Art Edition D - No. 301-400
Marine iguana, Galápagos, Ecuador, 2004
Medium: Gelatin silver print (unframed)
Size: 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in.)

Sebastião Salgado, The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA, 2009-2013.Art Edition E - No. 401-500  SOLD OUT
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA, 2009
Medium: Gelatin silver print (unframed)
Size: 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in.)