• FaceBook
  •   
  • Twitter

His Work

Na sua casa, com Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Salvador, 1992 - Foto Jean-Loup PivinNa sua casa, com Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Salvador, 1992 - Foto Jean-Loup Pivin

Pierre Verger's written work is diverse and multidisciplinary. His research has become a work of reference for several areas of scientific knowledge, being widely used, sought after and analyzed by academics and scholars from various disciplines and nationalities.

Verger built up his photographic work, a collection of 64,000 photographs that are kept as a treasure, thanks to the trips he made across the five continents between 1932 and the end of the 70s. During the early years, his photos were published in French travel books, newspapers and magazines; from the late 30s on, the photos were also used in English, Spanish and German publications. In those early works, Verger contribution was just as a photographer, without interfering with text creation and production.

Verger began to write the texts that accompanied the photographs only after arriving in Bahia, as a result of his interest in Afro-Bahian culture and its origin in the African countries of the Gulf of Benin. Therefore we can be considered that Verger started his research (even though he did not like that word) in 1948, when he returned to Benin. His research was published through various books and journals up until the date of his death.

In addition to those works as a photographer and researcher, in the seventies and eighties Verger participated in some documentaries on Afro-Brazilian themes as a "screenwriter", guest at an interview or scientific mentor.

During the eighties, he finally stopped traveling to Africa and, visibly aware of the importance of his work, began to organize and store all of it, which was mostly stored in France. He then creates the Pierre Verger Foundation, mainly for preserving and disseminating his work. Then, he publishes a lot of books, photographs and other writings through Editora Corrupio.