The photographic exhibition “Rota da Seda”, inaugurated on Saturday, July 23rd, brings to the ALFA space - Galeria Arco, in Vila-Adentro, in Faro, images of what is currently the “Silk Road”, which was, in the past, an important trade route. The exhibition by José Luís Santos has 40 photos and is open from Tuesday to Friday, from 14 pm to 00 pm, and remains on display until August 18th.
The Silk Road unfolded into a series of routes that linked the Far East to the Mediterranean Sea, crossing most of the world known until then, to sell that and other products to European traders.
Commercial and cultural exchanges were established between two worlds as far apart as they were unknown to each other. According to José Luís Santos, this was the core of his interest in this topic.
Travel photographer, José Luís Santos captured these images over thirteen years, in which he visited several countries, starting from Venice, continuing through Istanbul and passing through Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Syria.
Despite being linked to the past, the photographer did not want to explore what the “Silk Road” was, but what it is today. "I left in search of the lives of those who live there today, their day-to-day, culture, their dreams, or the vision they have of the West," he reveals.
This exhibition is, therefore, «a record of the human condition over thousands of kilometers, which were the meeting point of different peoples and cultures, in contrast to the contemporary world, where the difficulty of knowing and accepting the other is bigger and bigger”, concludes the artist.
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