Sascha Bezzubov, “Sad Tropics”
“Sad Tropics” is a series of photographs by Sasha Bezzubov that captures the transformation of the rainforest in The Republic of Gabon due to logging roads cutting into the interior, caking the leaves of the lush forest with red dust.
The Republic of Gabon is largely rainforest. It is part of a forest that covers a large area of Central Africa, and because of its dense canopy and variety of its plant life, it is considered one the world’s most precious ecosystems.
This forest is crisscrossed by logging roads that cut deep into the interior. The dust created in the wake of passing trucks, which cart enormous trees to the port, covers everything in sight. The rainforest turns deep red as the trucks leave behind clouds of dust. This dust settles on plants, smothering them and transforming their natural greens into an industrial concoction of red glow. The foliage flanking these roads becomes a witness to this exploitation.
Made with an 8x10 inch camera and printed large scale, the photographs in Sad Tropics describes what was once a lush, green, majestic forest - now covered with layer upon layer of dust. In these images the dust becomes a constant presence, insidious reminder, and symbol of our destructive relationship with nature.
