Artist Statements
In the depths of the Peruvian Amazon, specifically in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, unfolds a majestic setting. This reserve, the second largest in the country, hosts astonishing diversity: more than 1000 species of animals and 965 species of wild plants. However, in addition to its surprising biodiversity, beneath the forest floor, particularly under the aguajales, lies one of the world's primary carbon stores.
The Amazonian peatlands, a mass of organic matter accumulated over centuries, represent a fragile ecosystem with a dual power: the ability to protect the ecosystem's balance and, at the same time, the risk of releasing all the stored carbon, accelerating the planet's degradation processes.
As we venture into this territory, the first impression is the life force that sustains the jungle. Vegetation competes for space in this vast ecosystem, while vines and hanging roots of trees intertwine. As we keep walking, we come to realize that we are just one more of the thousands of organic components amidst the vastness of time. This cyclical notion materializes indiscriminately with the force of gravity that binds all organic matter on the surface, converging to the ground and restarting the inevitable cycle of life and death.
The diverse cultures that have inhabited the Amazon for centuries have formulated theories and myths about the origin of life and the natural environment. Each of them has a particular uniqueness but shares the same capacity to observe the visible and the invisible, an instance entered through dreams and the ingestion of medicinal plants. These narratives shape and give meaning to an understanding of the world with values foreign to the Western world, a perspective that, given the current situation, we should comprehend in different terms.
Some of these stories have accompanied this visual record. Situations that suddenly presented themselves and made sense in stories I have read or heard in previous trips to the Amazon. Like the Huitoto myth that narrates the birth of the Amazon River from a giant fallen tree, with its branches and roots becoming the tributaries emerging from it. Or the stories of animal spirits such as dolphins or insects, among others.
These images not only portray a unique landscape but also reveal another aspect of the Amazon, in this constant duality and paradigm between day and night, between the world we inhabit and the world of dreams, the world above and under the ground. And above all, emphasizing the vigilance required for the preservation of this natural treasure and the knowledge that protects it.
Bio
Musuk Nolte is a Peruvian-Mexican photographer and editor. His work moves between documentary and artistic photography to address social issues such as memory and environmental degradation. Throughout his career, Nolte has often collaborated with communities and cultures from the Andean and Amazonian regions developing long-term collaborative projects.