Txai Suruí grew up in a land of freedom, a place of infinite complexity and beauty, where the indigenous people washed their bodies in the rivers and the trees widened their crowns to offer their fruits.
Now, however, their culture is threatened by deforestation, agribusiness and racism.
“It is a land stained by wars, injustice and greed”, writes the Brazilian environmental activist in
Broken Specter
(Loose Joints Publishing), the latest monograph by Richard Mosse (43 years old), who throughout his career has posed his gaze on issues that define our time, such as migration, conflict and climate change.
The publication is part of the most ambitious project carried out by the Irish artist and his team.
In it, he makes use of a variety of photographic techniques in order to make the invisible visible and demonstrate the dimension and the imperative need to act in the face of the imminent collapse of the Amazon.
A vast ecosystem of which 75% is already damaged.
Currently, the highest rates of deforestation in the last 15 years are being reached.
Everything could point to a point of no return in which the largest tropical forest, once known as the lungs of the planet, would cease to be capable of generating rain.
"Which will trigger massive deforestation and the release of carbon at devastating levels, with the consequent impact on climate change, biodiversity and local and international communities," warns the author.
The flames that devour the Amazon also put the entire planet at risk.Richard Mosse
Fire is the backbone of this 74-minute immersive documentary.Richard Mosse
Professional burners charge 800 Brazilian reais (about 140 euros) per hectare burned.Richard Mosse
A man burns the jungle.
It doesn't take much to do it, just a bottle of gasoline and a lighter;
then the fire spreads dangerously.Richard Mosse
Illegal miners or garimpeiros in Pará.
Their activity destroys the fluvial system of rivers in exchange for a small amount of gold.Richard Mosse
A logger fells a tree.
In 2022, 10,573 km² of forest were lost.Richard Mosse
“It is a land stained by wars, injustice and greed”, writes the Brazilian environmental activist Txai Suruí.Richard Mosse
Intensive cattle feedlot in Rondonia.
The forest is burned to provide grass for cattle that will be sold for meat and leather.Richard Mosse
The documentary also deals with the burning of land by cowboys to create pastures.Richard Mosse