Edward Burtynsky

Homesteads #30 West of Merritt, British Columbia 1985.

Homesteads #33 View from Trans Canada Highway. Near Kamloops, British Columbia 1985.

Densified Oil Drums #4 Hamilton, Ontario 1997.

Exploring the Residual Landscape

Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in my work. I set course to intersect with a contemporary view of the great ages of man; from stone, to minerals, oil, transportation, silicon, and so on. To make these ideas visible I search for subjects that are rich in detail and scale yet open in their meaning. Recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries are all places that are outside our normal experience, yet we partake of their output on a daily basis.
These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We a re drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependance on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our caner for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.

Edward explains how the photographs that he takes act as a function to reflect our time here and what we are doing to the planet, whether good or bad he is using photography as a way to document it and share with others. It gives insight to what you wouldn't see on a regular basis yet you have an impact on it looking this way. While these images are visually appealing, at a glance you may not pay much attention to what some of the subjects are but once you do the images don't appear as attractive to the eye; all being manmade you can see the destruction that humans are causing to not only the world around us but the things that we have made we are also destroying them. It makes you question what you are seeing before you.
In these photographs you see the natural world meet manmade objects. His works vary in vantage points, some looking downwards at the subject at an angle as apposed to being level with what he has photographed; this is seen in Homesteads #30, in the foreground of this image you can also see a grassy patch which slopes up suggesting that its a raised part of ground in which Edward was stood on to have been able to take the photograph from this angle. This view point looking out at the scene has enabled the viewer to see the tops of the roofs of the buildings and cars in the frame, which would have been missed if it were to be taken from a lower angle. Alongside this in the series Homesteads it shows that the elements stay the same even though the place may change, thus showing that if the places were not revealed to the viewer you may think that they were taken in one area of the country apposed to being in different areas. His work is filled with earthy tones, mixed with the textures of materials/objects and the shadows there is a gritty feel surrounding it; with the colours being dull it suggests that the photographs may have been taken on a cloudy day.






Sources:
http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/site_contents/About/introAbout.html
http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/site_contents/Photographs/introPhotographs.html