THE HEART OF BRAZIL EXHIBITION

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1 THE HEART OF BRAZIL EXHIBITION Sue Cunningham ABIPP FRGS The Heart of Brazil Exhibition results from Sue and Patrick Cunningham s gruelling six-month expedition by boat which visited 48 remote tribal villages. It includes 150 photos, video and sound recordings, and features an installation in the form of a tree. The stunning photography is colourful and informative, exposing the spiritual core of living, vibrant tribal cultures which continue to resist the onslaught of the industrial world. Photographer and writer Sue and Patrick travelled for five months in a small, open boat to record the lives of seventeen tribes, most of which do not maintain daily contact with the outside world. Navigating 1,500 miles through the challenging rainforests of Brazil, they battled treacherous river rapids and faced angry people clad only in warpaint, gaining their confidence and trust to take these amazing images. The Indians of the Xingu are incredible people. They have a profound knowledge of the forest; they use a huge number of plants and trees to provide for their everyday needs. And they are important to all of us, because the forest is a vital weapon in the fight against climate change; if the Indians are driven from the Xingu valley, the chainsaws and bulldozers will come and the forest will fall, says Sue Cunningham. The Xingu River penetrates the centre of Brazil and passes through the world s largest Indigenous reserve, where uncontacted tribes still roam. The Indians have held the rapidly expanding advance of Brazilian farmers, miners and loggers at bay for five centuries, but conflicts continue. Construction of the world s third largest hydroelectric dam threatens sacred sites, which Avatar s Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron visited recently. These stunning images showcase a culture which is very different from our own, vibrant and alive, yet menaced by the outside world, says Patrick Cunningham. The exhibition, supported by the Royal Geographical Society of London, shows why it is vital to respect and value cultures and traditions which are so endangered, yet which powerfully demonstrate a viable alternative to the voracity of Industrial Man. See for more information and photos. Contact: Sue: sue@ipcst.org Tel:

2 FURTHER INFORMATION The Xingu River runs from south to north, meeting the great Amazon River at the beginning of its delta. It passes through the geographical centre of Brazil, yet it is very remote; it is accessible by dirt roads in only three places during the first 2,000 kilometres. Because of its inaccessibility and its occupation by Indians, the area has not yet suffered the level of deforestation found in many parts of the Amazon. The catchment area of the river is roughly the size of France. Recent moves by the Brazilian government have resulted in a contiguous area the size of Great Britain receiving nominal protection, but it is surrounded by active deforestation on all sides and is subject to frequent illegal incursions by loggers and gold miners (see maps). This area of the Amazon forest is a huge store of carbon, and acts as a climate regulator which maintains the rainfall in the south of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. It has a powerful effect on the world s climate systems. If the Amazon forest falls to loggers, soya farmers and cattle ranchers, it will release so much carbon into the atmosphere that it will accelerate global warming dramatically. Already, carbon emissions from deforestation contribute 20% of global greenhouse gases. The seventeen tribes of the Xingu are very varied. Some have over a century of contact with white people, while others were contacted as recently as the mid-1980s; there still remain uncontacted groups in the area. During the exhibitions in London and Brazil, Sue hosted daily workshops for students of various ages, from primary school to university. While the photographs are breathtakingly beautiful in their own right, the public information function of the exhibition is very important. Sue will be available to stage workshops during any future exhibition. Sue speaks English, German, Portuguese, French and Spanish. The images can be viewed at:

3 The exhibition: 1 5 London, 6 8 Brasília.

4 Map 1. Xingu Basin Biodiversity Corridor with inset location map. The red colouration shows recently deforested areas. Courtesy of Instituto Socioambiental

5 PROTECTED AREAS IN THE XINGU RIVER BASIN Federal Conservation Units State Conservation Units Indigenous Territories Map 2. The Xingu Catchment, with protected areas in green. Courtesy of Instituto Socioambiental