This is photography

Three Gorges Dam Project, Wushan #5, Yangtze River, China 2002


Oxford Tire Pile No. 7, Westley, California 1999


Densified Oil Drums No. 4, Hamilton, Ontario 1997

How can you take something that looks horrible and hideous and turn into an inspiring and amazing work of art?? Edward Burtynsky can show you how... this is his vision:

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.