Jemima Roques
The Science Museum’s latest exhibition reveals the destruction of the world’s largest wetland at unprecedented risk of disappearing
The Pantanal wetland spans 195,000 km2 across Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay, hosting an extraordinary ecosystem with a huge variety of wildlife – all of which are under threat. A 2020 wildfire burned 27% of the land, killing 17 million vertebrates, and is on course to disappear by 2050, according to the Environmental Justice Foundation. Photographers Lalo de Almeida and Luciano Candisani exhibit its destruction in a series of over 60 striking images of beauty and devastation, leaving the visitor questioning the politics of human interference.
The sobering exhibition is displayed in the Science Museum, as well as in cities across Europe and Brazil, as part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture. Beautifully curated, it takes you on a striking visual journey through 17 years of one of the world’s most unique UNESCO sites, documenting fires, droughts, apocalyptic scenes, and those who must endure them.
Every image is perfectly constructed, balancing the wildlife with the death of their habitat. Rich colours and engaging framing invite the viewer to look more closely. In one photo a lone marsh deer crosses the roadway through clouds of smoke from a forest fire. Another captures a Dorado fish in the Olho-d’água River with his mouth gaping open in a rare, striking image. The curator dedicates one corner to a large screen showing stills and videos whilst the viewer is encouraged to sit and contemplate. Expanding on the prints, it displays thick, smoky scenes and troubled wildlife.
The beauty of each image does not detract from the crisis that is largely human-made — our destruction is shown plainly to us. The alarming increase in droughts and wildfires calls into question farming practices and global warming, prompting us to consider the consequences our actions have for our planet.
The Pantanal is also home to 1.2 million people. Almeida and Candisani’s photographs include the people living there, documenting the sombre experience of life amongst death. The silhouettes of volunteer firefighters stand against a burning sky of amber as wildfires take over Jofre Velho ranch in one particularly striking image, highlighting the fight to keep the Pantanal alive.
This is an unmissable exhibition which uses art beautifully to examine human practices of ruin. The noise of destruction cuts through the silence of the gallery, opening up space for political discussion through photography.
Water Pantanal Fire is on for free at the Science Museum until 31 May 2026 as part of its international tour. The exhibition contains content which some visitors may find challenging and is recommended for ages 12+.