Edward Burtynsky

When researching themes for my  environment project, the Canadian photogprher Edward Burtynsky inspired me. When researching i loved  the importance of the global issue “oil”.

When researching his work, I love how the photographer presents his visual fascination with the world’s addiction to oil, and how this concept can create a massive globalisation issue.

From its extraction, consumption and afterlife, Burtynsky has documented the way we live with oil and its impact on our culture and environment. He captures the effects of oil in human lives, depicting landscapes altered by its extraction from the earth, and by the cities and suburban sprawl generated around its use. He also addresses the impact and confront of the `end of oil` rising cost. I like this idea, and would like to explore further into this importance throughout my project.

Burtynsky has travelled to many places around the world, but my favourite photos are the series of the deep water horizon oil spill. He travelled to the Gulf of Mexico to photograph these images and has emphasized the issue of its polluted fallout. The images maintain his signature, merging beauty with the ugliness of our inhuman addiction.

 

As I was so fascinated by his photography work and his importance of oil, I rented out his book called BURTYNSKY OIL. The book captures a decade of photographic work that explores the subject of oil. Edward Burtynsky has travelled internationally to chronicle the production, distribution, and use of the most critical fuel of our time, and resembles this history through his photographic work. I enjoyed reading and observing his work in this book, and was interested how he focussed on landscapes altered by its extraction from the earth.

My other idea was how recycling affects our landscape. Referring back to Burtynsky, his large-scale photographs of ‘manufactured landscapes’ – quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams describe the importance and control over landscape and nature. His images of rubbish are recorded as  “stunning” or “beautiful,” and  raises all kinds of questions about ethics and aesthetics without trying to easily answer them.

The photos allow us to contemplate on our deep impact on the planet, and witness both the epicentres of industrial attempt and the dumping grounds of its waste. I would like to maybe think more about this topic and produce some test strips exploring this theme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In relation to Burtynsky, Keith Arnatt`s series of work is pleasing at first because of the altering colour combinations and textures layered among a transparent backdrop. The light falls softly, almost glowing, onto the objects, with the plastic and discarded items behind.

 

Arnatt has chosen to photograph his subjects close-up, in order to zoom in on the objects. This makes the subject harder to depict the scale and identity of the items. A shallow depth of field has been applied to some of his images, and this softens the edges and hides any harshness in the photo, enhancing this soft and calming result that is translated to the viewer. 

 

It's hard to find a darker reason behind the images, as they are presented in such a unusual way, though lighting and composition, tries to convey a positive response to the subject `rubbish`. This could indicate that the artist’s story, tries to convey, the saying, ‘Never judge a book by its cover’. Insinuating, we are too quick to categorize things into what is stereotypically denoted today as good or bad, ugly or attractive. 

 

Pictures from a rubbish tip