Witjai – I Exist

A journey in the Ecuador amazonian forest to meet the Shuar people.
by Gianluca Balocco

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Project Description

Contributions by: Grazia Francescato, Juan Bottasso, Goriano Rugi, Mauro Francesco Minervino, Juan Utitiaj Untzui, Noemi Bottasso, Walter Landini, Tamara Landivar, Alessandra Movilia.

The place is Ecuador, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. After a 1500 km journey in the forest I’ve met the Shuar people and I’ve started a collaboration with them. My pictures try to witness their millennial tradition as defenders of the forest. I deliberately chose to work without a set, thus avoiding the limitations necessarily imposed by it. The people involved in the project could therefore feel really involved and free to express themselves in their own space with their own identity.

When I met the Shuar people, I asked them to choose a sacred plant, tree or root from the forest they live in. I examined the matter thoroughly with the Shuar people and the whole clan and we discussed the possibility of taking pictures with a plant in their hands. Plants are a symbol of survival and the relationship between men and plants is the only weapon we have to preserve the world from destruction. The Shuar people, one of the most ancient shamanic cultures on our planet, live in perfect harmony with the natural world. From their point of view, plants are intelligent and sacred. A plant can be a remedy for an illness, a drug, and a poison to kill – it can provide food or raw materials to build houses, boats, tools, clothes, weapons and so on.

The cooperation with the Shuar people meant basically two things to me. I realized how important they are if we consider them as a biological link in the millennial evolution of the forest. Therefore, they are fundamental for the preservation of the forest and their presence is a message to the industrialized world. This message reminds us of an ancient connection sadly fallen into oblivion – the magical, psychological and biological link connecting us to the world of plants, with which we share 26% of our DNA.

Book Specifications

Width:25cm
Height:25cm
Pages:192
Cover:Hardcover binding with flat spine, printed over 2,5mm cardboard
Language:Italiano
ISBN: 978-8894-1827-7-4
Category: Libri fotografici

Author Informations

NameGianluca Balocco
Country Italia
Websitehttp://gianlucabalocco.com/

Biography

Fotografo artista ed autore, Balocco usa la fotografia come strumento scientifico in progetti definiti al limite tra la biologia evoluzionista e l’antropologia contemporanea ispirata al pensiero di George Didi-Hubermann. Da alcuni anni privilegia i temi di un’ecologia che parte dalla consapevolezza delle relazioni sistemiche necessarie alla vita e all’evoluzione dell’uomo, il tutto volto a sottendere anche una riflessione su sostenibilità, inquinamento ambientale, problemi energetici, futuro del Pianeta. Nella costruzione dei suoi set fotografici, spesso di impostazione concettuale, l’ambiente umano e sociale viene rivisitato attraverso una visione sistemica che lo connette al mondo intelligente vegetale per rivelarsi nella propria accezione anacronistica. In questo modo, la fotografia è lo straordinario medium che può raccontare e rivelare il valore della biodiversità e della vita come un microscopio per un biologo. Le piante sono da sempre fonte di cura, sopravvivenza e sanazione per tutti gli esseri viventi e in tutte le culture del mondo. La scienza ufficiale le classifica solo come molecole e le divide in categorie per sfruttarle attraverso il metodo tecnologico ma il loro potere e quello delle sciamane che le sanno interpretare è ben diverso. Ad oggi, questo approccio, che considera le piante esseri viventi dotati di energia messa a disposizione dal pianeta per purificare, sanare e nutrire l’uomo, sopravvive solo in poche culture ancestrali come quella andina e amazzonica.

In stock

Shipping within 24h

Associations / NGO (150,00) 5 copies of the book + free shipping

Limited (500,00) Limited edition book with special cover (10 numbered copies) + 5 Postcards + A4 Poster + 20x30 Fine Art Print + Free shipping

Gold (350,00) One copy of the book + 5 Postcards + A4 Poster + 20x30 Fine Art Print + Free shipping

Silver (75,00) One copy of the book + 5 Postcards + A4 Poster + Free shipping

Bronze (60,00) One copy of the book + 5 Postcards + Free shipping

Base (25,00) One copy of the book + Free shipping

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