by Edward Burtynsky
Curated by William A. Ewing, Edward Burtynsky: Essential Elements provides an overview of Burtynsky’s work across four decades, including both iconic images and previously unpublished photographs. Relinquishing the project-based lens through which the photographer’s work has previously been presented, the major monographs Oil and Water being the most recent examples, this book presents Burtynsky’s photographs in five free-flowing sections which combine and contrast work from throughout his career. This original approach provides a sense of both his visual language and his exploration of the dilemmas at the heart of our globalized world. Each section is interspersed with selected texts which work in concert with the images, to provide a fuller understanding of Burtynsky’s view of the world.
“Getting up close to a Burtynsky photograph is a visceral encounter…Your eyes scan the surface as the image almost envelops.” (WSJ Magazine)