Artist Essay 02 - Sebastiao Salgado
Sebastiao Salgado is a renowned Brazilian photographer who originally trained as an economist before transitioning into photography. In 1979, he joined Magnum Photos, one of the most respectable photographic agencies in the world, before leaving in 1994 to establish his own agency, Amazonas Images, dedicated to documenting global social issues.
​
Salgado is best known for his striking black-and-white photography, which captures the raw beauty and harsh realities of the world with high contrast and dramatic lighting. His compositions use light to emphasize textures, depth, and emotion, making each image feel harsh and powerful.
His work often focuses on themes of human struggle, and brutalist architecture.
Salgado’s ability to tell stories through monochrome imagery makes his photography deeply moving, and his use of harsh leading lines and architecture enable him to tell the story.
'Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 1995'
By Sebastiao Salgado
I have chosen this image as I like how it is framed and composed in a symmetrical and repetitive manner, using the rows of windows and shutters to create a grid like pattern. These repetitive elements create a strong geometric balance to the image and create solid focal points.
As each window’s all house their own people an interest and variation is added to the image. This image is monocromatic which emphasises the textures and contrast of structures and patterns. The slight contrast between the illuminated in interiors of the houses and the darker exteriors creates a depth with shadows and highlights enhancing the gritty setting.
This image conveys a crowded living space and its presence of many different individuals conveys the daily life and regular social interactions.
​
The straight on perspective create a flat image which allows the viewer to engage with the lives of the subjects it also allows the viewer to see in the partially closed windows and reveal glimpses of people's rooms and therefore their lives. From this image I would like to explore flat on photography in order to show glimpses of people's lives through windows.
'Workers - in the style of Sebastio Salgado'
By Ming Thein
This image was taken by a photographer called Ming Thein, who has taken inspiration from the works if Sebastio Salgado.
This image is composed with strong leading lines created by the scaffolding and pathways. Leading the viewer’s eyes towards the focal point of the construction worker. The chaotic nature of the many leading lines creates a noisy silence to the image as the image is a single snapshot of a disordered setting.
The scaffolding creates a layered depth and allows for an immersive viewing experience. The elevated perspective enhances a sense of precariousness as the worker appears to be alone in a dangerous setting.
The diagonal leading lines of walkways pulls the viewers eyes towards the construction worker, furthering their isolation.
The monochromatic tones of the image enhances the texture of the raw materials and creates a brutal and gritty undertone to the image. Due to the fact that the construction worker stands alone they become symbolic of human vulnerability.​
The unfinished construction site represents the vast expansion of modern cities. From this image I plan on exploring isolation in busy construction sites, in both the form of buildings and workers
'Jakarta, Indonesia, 1996'
By Sebastiao Salgado
This image uses the rule of thirds with the worker positioned on the left and the skyline dominating the 2/3 on the right the metal bars on the left hand side of the image create leading lines that draw the viewer upwards as the worker climbs. The stark contrast between the human figure and the vast cityscape evokes fear in the viewer.
This use of black and white photography enhances that textures of the images and emphasises the roaring derelict nature of the construction site.
The singular construction worker on the left creates a human narrative behind the image and adds intrigue for the viewer. The image has a slightly unsettling tone to it as the viewer is fearful for the worker due to the fact that he appears to be very high off the ground with minimal protection.
This image is symbolic of modernization and urban progress, the image encapsulates the journey from construction site to a finalised skyscraper. The isolation of the worker acts as a way to further these emotions. From this image I would like to photograph isolated construction workers as well as isolated buildings in order to convey the effects of urbanisation.
In conclusion, Salgado’s brutalist architecture and monochromatic photography enable him to present human stories. From his work I would like to capture construction workers and construction sites as a way to present human struggles.