© 2013, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto / Howard Greenberg Gallery, Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York and the artist
Landscape and Legacy: Earth Through Burtynsky’s Lens
As a huge fan of large format photography and an artist myself, I couldn’t help but take advantage of the opportunity to see Ed Burtynsky’s exhibit, Le Paysage Abstrait, at the Arsenal Contemporary Art Gallery in Montreal.
Having never seen his work before, I can say it delivers a one two punch, fully delivering on the impact and power that only visual media can do.
Many of the photos have a painterly beauty that’s both striking and unique. Together they weave a narrative about the human footprint on earth urging us to rethink our legacy.
“I want this exhibition to inspire people, to give visitors a wide look at our world and fuel them with the desire to take action for a sustainable future. I remain hopeful that if each of us not only makes our own positive changes, but also demands them from corporations and governments alike, we can leave behind a liveable planet for current and future generations.” EDWARD BURTYNSKY
We all know that the planets in trouble. This summer many places recorded some of the hottest temperatures on record. Off the coast of Florida, the water hit 100ºF multiple times, a temperature more suitable to hot tubs than the open sea. The unavoidable truth is that our oceans are warming faster than predicted, and it is beginning to feel like the hackneyed “frog in a slowly boiling pot.”
If these events still don’t quite hit home, Ed Burtynsky’s photos provide a birds eye view, capturing some of the earth’s industrial landscapes from above. One look at these images fully express the impacts of human industry on the natural landscape on a global scale. Amidst the beauty of the photos, one could also witness the rape and pillage of the earth like lingering ghosts that reveal their stories.
© 1992, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto / Howard Greenberg Gallery, Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York and the artist
We come from nature. There is an importance to [having] a certain reverence for what nature is because we are connected to it… If we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves.
– EDWARD BURTYNSKY
The exhibit also offers a special presentation of “In The Wake of Progess,” an immersive multimedia project that premiered in Toronto’s Dundas Square in 2022.
Bob Ezrin is the co-producer of In the Wake of Progress, an immersive short film based on the 40 year career of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. (The other co-producer is Burtynsky himself.) Ezrin wants you to rethink consumer culture. The film, which looks at the effects of resource extraction around the world, made its debut last year, and is currently the centerpiece of the Montreal exhibit, Le paysage abstrait. The super-producer’s collaboration with Edward Burtynsky looks at humanity’s impact on the world around us.
© 2007, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto / Howard Greenberg Gallery, Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York and the artist
“If we’re going to electrify the world, we need copper, and we need a copper mine. We need aluminum if we want to fly in planes, and we need iron if we want to drive cars. It’s naive to think that we can stop the taking. I’ve never believed that.
To me, the only answer has always been, we need to take without destroying what we’re taking from while we’re taking it.” Ed Burtynsky
***All images are copyright protected and sourced from and the website https://www.artworksforchange.org/ featuring Ed Burtynsky’s art and many artists, including Daniel Beltra’s work as well.
Edward Burtynsky’s award-winning, large-scale photographs illuminate the environmental cost and alarming beauty of human intervention in natural landscapes. We spoke with him about his artistic influences, human responsibility for the planet, and the great grief behind it all. Read the full interview. How Edward Burtynsky Shows Us Who We Are.
After attending the Montreal exhibit, I became acutely aware of the after effects of my consumption. Seeing giant mountains of garbage with tons of product packaging like yogurt containers and other common use plastics. Although I recycle, when I purchase many products I don’t give much thought as to where all of this goes and the staggering sheer volume of garbage my household produces. This entire system of product packaging and waste needs a complete rethink. Making the decision to stop purchasing single use pens, reusing your large dishwasher or handsoap container by simply getting it refilled can drastically reduce the amount of packaging waste that ends up in landfills. There’s lots more work to do here, but it’s at least a start.
