David LaChapelle recalls 1989 rainforest benefit as Amazon burns

Photographer David LaChapelle, currently exhibiting 'Atti Divini' at the Venaria Reale in Piedmont, has spoken out about the devastating Amazon fires. In an Instagram post, he shared the central image from his 1988 triptych 'Scorched Earth,' which was shown the following year in the group exhibition 'Don't Bungle the Jungle.' LaChapelle recalled that in 1989, a group of artists coordinated by Kenny Scharf and his Brazilian wife Tereza Goncalves organized a charity group show at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York to protect the rainforest, already threatened three decades ago. He noted that deforestation is not a recent issue: Brazil, with 200 million cattle—equal to its human population—has been clearing land for livestock, forage, and global soy agriculture since the late 20th century, often by setting fires. LaChapelle wrote, 'I was looking for inspiration to write something under the image, words that sounded like a prayer. This is a devastating ecological and human catastrophe, with the lungs of the planet on fire. I cried watching the women of the Amazon march for their survival. If only our tears could put out the fires.'