Are you ready for an astonishing journey to the heart of the Amazon rainforest? The landmark exhibition Amazônia by renowned Franco-Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado is coming to Belgium for the first time this spring. The expo in Brussels opens on 4 April, presenting over 200 photographs that reveal the incredible richness of the Amazon rainforest and the people who inhabit it.
For seven years, Sebastião Salgado travelled through the Brazilian Amazon, in small boats or in the air. He photographed the forest, the rivers, the mountains and the people who live there. In this profound universe, the immense power of nature is felt like in few other places on the planet. The photographer’s eye has been imprinted with striking images. Most of these are shown to the public for the first time in the Amazônia exhibition.
The exhibition also includes testimonials from local communities, met in the villages where the photographer spent several weeks. This exhibition about the heart of the Amazon Rainforest is an invitation to see, hear and think about the future of biodiversity and the place of humans in the living world.
Designed by Lélia Wanick Salgado and produced and presented by Tempora, the exhibition features over 200 large-format photographs, showcasing the incredible richness of the Amazon rainforest and the peoples who live in harmony with it. Amazônia will be held at Tour & Taxis in Brussels from April 4 to November 9, 2025, offering an immersive journey into a world that is both vibrant and fragile, accompanied by a specially composed soundscape by Jean-Michel Jarre.
“The purpose of this exhibition is to stimulate debate on the future of the Amazon rainforest. We need to do this together, from an international perspective, and with the support of indigenous organizations.”
SEBASTIÃO SALGADO
Ashaninka young woman. State of Acre,
Brazil, 2016.
Mount Roraima. State of Roraima, Brazil, 2018.
A photographic journey
Following in the footsteps of his Genesis project—where he captured some of the planet’s most remote regions to showcase their majestic beauty—Sebastião Salgado embarked on a new series of journeys to document the extraordinary natural diversity of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest and the ways of life of its Indigenous peoples.
This immersive journey into the heart of the Amazon is an invitation to see, listen, and reflect on the future of biodiversity and humanity’s place within the living world.
Marubo indigenous people. State of Amazonas, Brazil, 1998.
Marauiá mountain range. Municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira. Yanomami Indigenous Territory, State of Amazonas, 2018.
Spending several weeks in these villages, he photographed ten different ethnic groups. Traveling in small boats or soaring above the landscape, Salgado captured stunning images that reveal the complex labyrinth of winding tributaries feeding the great river, towering mountains rising as high as 3,000 meters, and water-laden skies that give birth to celestial rivers in the atmosphere.
Amazônia: A world symphony exhibition
In addition to the fragility of this ecosystem, the exhibition also highlights the richness of the Amazonian sound universe. The impressive photographs are displayed with an original soundtrack by Jean-Michel Jarre, created from sounds of the forest. The rustle of trees and the noises of animals. Birdsong and the crash of water rushing down from the mountains… Collected in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, they create a soundscape adapted to the tour.
The Anavilhanas, wooded islands of the Río Negro. State of Amazonas, Brazil, 2009.
Yanomami shaman interacts with spirits before an ascent to Pico da Neblina. State of Amazonas, Brazil, 2014.
A priceless heritage
The exhibition showcases over 200 photographs, accompanied by huge projections, in keeping with this extraordinary natural environment. Videos also allow us to listen to the people who live in the forest, and to grasp the richness of their culture.
The Amazônia exhibition emphasizes the fragility of this ecosystem. It also shows that, in the protected areas inhabited by the indigenous communities, who are its ancestral guardians, the forest has suffered almost no damage. Through the power of these images, Sebastião and Lélia Salgado hope to stimulate thought and action in favor of the preservation of this priceless human heritage.
For more details & tickets, visit the Amazônia expo website.
The expo can be visited from 4 April to 9 November at Tour & Taxis (Shed 4 bis, 86C Avenue du Port) in Brussels. You will find it across the Food Market, having a common entrance with WOM museum.
