Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky is known for his large-format photographs of industrial landscapes and his work can be seen in museums all over the world. He often positions himself at high-vantage points over the landscape using elevated platforms and helicopters.

Burtynsky’s ‘Shipbreaking’ series is part of a decade long project entitled ‘Oil’ and documents the industry of dismantling and recycling ships in Bangladesh. India based Tasveer Journal describes the set as one of Burtynsky’s most poignant and increasingly significant in light of today’s environmental insecurity. The series not only shows where these enormous oil tankers come to die but also highlights the dangerous conditions in which the dismantlers work.

Using a desaturated colour palette, Burtynsky succeeds in creating images which are both beautiful and emotive. Many of the images have the appearance of a giant graveyard, evoking feelings of the end of the world.

These images represent the kind of sentiment I am aiming to represent with my ‘Elements of Design’ assignment, taken at a small shipyard on the banks of the Humber Estuary.

 

 

"[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