Edward Burtynsky: Residual Landscapes

Nickel Tailings #34, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, 1996

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 of 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 are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times. (Edward Burtynsky)

Nickel Tailings No. 36, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, 1996

Dryland Farming #11, Monegros County, Aragon, Spain, 2010

Iberia Quarries # 3, Cochico Co., Pardais, Portugal, 2006

Silver Lake Operations # 15, Lake Lefroy, Western Australia, 2007

China Quarries # 2, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, 2004

Alberta Oil Sands #10, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, 2007

Burning Tire Pile # 1, Nearstockton, California, 1999

Oxford Tire Pile #9a, Westley, California, USA, 1999

Oil Spill #4, Oil Skimming Boat, Near Ground Zero, Gulf of Mexico, June 24, 2010

Shipbreaking # 9a, Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2000

Uranium Tailings No. 12, Elliot Lake, Ontario, 1995

Tailings # 1, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, 2007