From the DS Archives is sharing with you again Edward Burtynsky an artist who explores the haunting and less frequently captured scenes from industry and commercialization. Burtynsky’s newest work is focused on oil (of the petroleum variety) revealing  the rarely seen moments in the journey of the material; from its devestating extraction to the impact it has on our lives. Burtynsky has recently won the And/or Book Award 2010 for photography, given by the London based Krasna-Krausz Foundation.

Edward Burynsky was originally written by Seth Curcio and published on November 27, 2008.

The photographs of Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky lead the viewer through the extremities of commercialism from a behind the scenes point of view. Desolate oil sites, packed and impersonal factories in China, abandoned boat sites, and mines and quarries are just a few scenes that the artist has captured in countries across the world. Burtynsky’s photos depict the product of extreme industrialized development and its affect on nature and humankind. In 1985, the artist founded the Toronto Image Works, a darkroom, custom image lab and new media training center. Recent shows include the touring exhibition titled “The China Series” which was on view at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Artand the Presentation House in Vancouver amongst others. This year, the artist had a major survey of 65-70 works at the Gemeente Museum Helmond in the Netherlands. Some of Burtynsky’s awards include theOfficer of the Order of Canada (2006) and the Flying Elephants Foundation Fellowship (2004).