Edward Burtynsky is a Canadian photographer who has illuminated the way industry alters and re-forms natural landscapes. Through his striking photographs of the extraction and use of water, minerals, stone, and oil, Burtynsky reveals the “scale of human impact on our environment and the resources re-shaped and exhausted by our consumption.” Burtynsky latest show will open September 18 at Berkeley’s David Brower Center. Below is the show to-be-released curator’s statement:
“Art/Act: Edward Burtynsky features images of the majestic yet dire landscapes that have resulted from the extraction and use of our natural resources. The exhibition primarily focuses on his powerful series, Water. In Water, aerial photos offer expansive vantage points rendering topographies as delicate abstract patterns. Upon closer inspection, the images reveal once abundant water sources as devastated environments. The body of work includes images of the Colorado River Delta in Mexico, Shasta Lake Reservoir and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation, in addition to images from Spain, China, and The Netherlands. On this timely series Burtynsky writes “My hope is that these pictures will stimulate a process of thinking about something essential to our survival; something we often take for granted—until it’s gone.”
Photography by Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of the Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto, and the Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco
