Empathy and ecstasy
 
A tribute to Africa's people and wildlife
 
Sebastião Salgado earned his immense reputation as one of the most respected photographers through powerful black-and-white images made over decades in places few others would have dared to reach. Arguably his most significant work is set in Africa. Across more than 40 reports over a period of 30 years, Salgado reveals every facet of life on the continent. From the Dinka of Sudan and the Himba of Namibia to the gorillas and volcanoes of the Great Lakes region, whether photographing refugees or landscapes, Salgado knows precisely how to freeze a moment and make viewers immediately feel part of the image. It is impossible to remain indifferent to the devastating effects of war, poverty, disease and hostile climatic conditions.
Divided into three parts, the book begins its journey in southern Africa (Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia), continues through the Great Lakes region (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya), and concludes in sub-Saharan Africa (Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Mauritania, Senegal, Ethiopia). The texts are by Mozambican novelist Mia Couto, who describes contemporary postcolonial Africa with exceptional insight.
This book pays tribute to the African continent, its people, its history and its extraordinary natural world.
 
About the photographer
 
In 1973, Sebastião Salgado began his professional photographic career in Paris, working for Sygma, Gamma and Magnum Photos. In 1994, with his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado, he established Amazonas images, subsequently his studio, which exclusively manages his work. Salgado's photographic projects have appeared in numerous exhibitions and books, including Sahel. El fin del camino (1988), Otras Américas (1986), Terra (1997), Éxodos (2000), Retratos de los niños del éxodo (2000), Africa (2007), Génesis (2013), The Scent of a Dream (2015), Kuwait. Un desierto en llamas (2016), Gold (2019) and Amazônia (2021).
 
About the author
 
Translated into more than 20 languages, Mia Couto is Mozambique's most acclaimed writer. His first novel, Sleepwalking Land, was selected by an international jury as one of the twelve best African books published in the twentieth century. The accompanying biography describes him as living in Maputo, Mozambique, and working as an ecologist.
 
About the editor
 
Lélia Wanick Salgado studied architecture and urban planning in Paris. She became interested in photography in 1970 and, in the 1980s, began conceiving and designing most of Sebastião Salgado's photobooks and all exhibitions of his work.