A the beginning of summer, a couple of the creative studio went see to an exhibition of photography by the Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. It was called Amazonia and it was billed as an immersive sound a visual experience.
The Science and Industry Museum didn’t seem like the obvious choice to host this exhibit, but the bespoke space this experience filled was perfect – almost like the room had been built around it.
Walking in you were met with a very darkly painted room with huge hanging photographs, which were perfectly lit. The odd wall was painted in terracotta which complemented the photography beautifully. The unique aesthetic about the photography is everything was in black and white. An obviously important decision by the photographer, as the Amazon is alive with colour. But the lack of a bright palette gave the photography something more than it took away.
The focus on dark and light textures captured something that might not have been as dramatic in colour — some of the shots were almost unreal. It was a bold decision and it worked for me. The portraits of the indigenous tribes was very powerful, especially as they were shot in the jungle despite looking like they had been shot in a studio with carefully considered lighting.
There was a specially composed soundtrack which harmonised sounds of the jungle with electronic soundscapes which immersed you. It really added to the experience rather than the hush you find in most galleries.
It was a very pleasant place to spend an hour. I can highly recommend if you get the chance to go and see it.
