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The MEP presents the exhibition ”Amazônia” by Tommaso Protti, winner of the 10th Carmignac Photojournalism Award dedicated to the Amazon and the issues related to its deforestation. Chaired by Yolanda Kakabadse, Minister of the Environment of Ecuador from 1998 to 2000 and President of the WWF Association from 2010 to 2017, the Award was attributed to Tommaso Protti.

Between January and July 2009, Italian photojournalist Tommaso Protti, accompanied by British journalist Sam Cowie, travelled several kilometers through the Brazilian Amazon to produce this documentary. From the region of Maranhão in the east to that of Rondônia in the west, through the states of Pará and Amazonas, they are portraying the contemporary Brazilian Amazon where the social and humanitarian crises are accumulating with the inexorable destruction of the virgin forest, ”the lungs of the planet.”

”My aim was to illustrate social transformations by denouncing the current massacre and destruction in the region. These different forms of violence resulted from international market shifts and an exponential increase in global consumption, from cocaine to beef. Scientists agree to say that the forest is currently moving to a point of no return: deforestation, fueled by illegal timber trade, land grabbing, development of private and state projects and resource extraction are the reasons for it. I believe it’s important to make the public aware of this and to ask yourself what is happening right now.” – Tommaso Protti

Born in Italy in 1986, Tommaso Protti lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil. He began his photography career in 2011 after graduating in Political Science and International Relations. Since then, he has devoted himself to his personal long-term projects. His work has been exhibited around the world and his photographs are published in international press. He also collaborates with international organizations such as the United Nations. He is a member of the Angustia agency.

As a continuation of the exhibition at the MEP, photographs of Tommaso Protti are being exhibited on the grilles of the Hôtel de Ville from December 2, 2019 to January 10, 2020.