Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky is one of Canada's foremost photographers. His most famous works are shot with large format cameras and printed on a very large scale. He established a photo lab and digital imaging centre, Toronto Image Works, in 1985. His theme for a number of years has been our effect, especially through industry, on the world's landscape. I first became aware of him when he began chronicling the Three Gorges Dam Project in China. 'Manufactured Landscapes' is a film that shows him at work and some of the resulting prints. It is a fascinating documentary film both for its depiction of Mr. Burtynsky as an artist and, through his photographs, an instigator of social dialogue, and for the stunning photography itself. Mr. Burtynsky is donating a number of his recent prints to the Surrey Art Gallery and will be speaking  at the presentation to the gallery on February 12th, 2009. I phoned for my tickets to the event a few hours after it sold out, but I will go see the prints at least once, and hopefully a number of times. The image above is the spring 2003 cover of 'Canadian ART' magazine.