Until June 25: EXPLORE: PLANET EARTH, images from around the world. Palazzo Blu, Lungarno Gambacorti, 9, Pisa. Open Monday to Friday from 10 am – 7 pm, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays from 10 am – 8 pm. Admission: €6, reduced €4.
Palazzo Blu is currently hosting a display of over 100 spectacular images taken by National Geographic photographers. Curated by Marco Cattaneo titled “Explore: Planet Earth” calls attention to the constant changes and growth happening in our world today. These photos range from corners of the earth untouched by humans to massive city centers such as Dubai.
These photographs serve as a reminder that our planet and ecosystem are fragile, and there is a great need for action in order to save the natural beauty that these photographers have captured. An incredible photo by Joel Sartor shows a koala closeup, a species is quickly becoming endangered after the wildfires that devastated Queensland and New South Wales.
Other photos taken by Charlie Hamilton James and Vincent J. Musi highlight the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming, and the beauty of a forest in Copenhagen, Denmark. National Geographic, along with Palazzo Blu, hopes that these photos will help remind people of the incredibly rapid rate of species dying out in our world. Over the past 500 years, 700 species have become extinct, with thousands more endangered. There are changes that desperately need to be made in order to save species like the koalas, and the natural beauty that is rapidly disappearing from our world today.
Other photos, like one taken by Luca Locatelli, show how humans have already developed and changed parts of the world. In Locatelli’s photo, he shows a birds-eye view of Dubai, a city with 3.5 million people living in it and thousands of buildings. This now incredibly developed city was once a primitive fishing village. Photos such as the one taken by Locatelli, as well as the entire exhibition, are accompanied by suggestions about how to contain the damage being done to our environment, such as utilizing vertical agriculture and low-consumption aircrafts.
One of the most fascinating photos was done by Stephen Wilkes, titled “Day to Night.” It is a combination of thousands of photos Wilkes took while staying in the same spot overlooking Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, over the course of 36 hours. This breathtaking images highlights the delicate beauty of nature and the importance of saving places like this from development and extinction.
Explore: Planet Earth is a powerful statement about the condition of the world and environment, and how important it is to make changes before the damage becomes completely irreversible. The photos mentioned above, along with many others, will be exhibited through much of June to help motivate and educate the public to participate in the movement to save what is left of the nature and beauty of our world. (sofie refojo)
