Equator

After visiting archaic Madagascar and the patriarchal world of Tahiti with its mysterious tattooing rituals, Barbieri finally discovered the Garden of Eden. In his images of the Seychelles, there is nothing to remind us that this glittering archipelago takes its name from the minister of finance under Louis XV - one Monsieur Moreau de Séchelles, representative of a world that is forgotten the moment you step ashore. The only absolute ruler here is the sun, casting paterns on naked skin through the palm fronds, or perhaps de trade winds that stir the almond trees and send the sand dancing over the beach. Surely it is no coincidence that this is the home of the coco-de-mer, or sea coconut, whose fruit so closely resembles the mount of Venus, while the blossoms are unmistakably phallic. On the Seychelles, it is said that at night these plants do exactly what their from suggests they might. And that is what Barbieri's photographs seem to be saying too... Every page in this book whispers sensuality.