Edward Burtynsky adamantly believes that the world needs change. “Art is never really in a way attributed to making change,” he says. But the world-renowned photographer goes on to speak passionately about the future of the planet, reminding us that “we only have one earth.” Then adds, in a moment of levity, “for now.”

It is difficult to deny the disconnect between human progress and the natural world. Burtynsky’s photographs demonstrate this struggle poignantly. Picture an enormous, intricate freeway dominating a horizon near L.A. Or streams of bright orange nickel tailings snaking across Ontario – amazing yet disturbing. His most recent collaborative film project, Watermark, attempts to capture the power of water in our society – and our lack of appreciation for it. Burtynsky states his main goal with this work is for when people “turn on a tap or jump into a pool they will have a deeper profound appreciation of water.” The feature Watermark aims to communicate this, to “reflect the complexity” of water in a way that echoes Burtynsky’s signature, paradoxical style. It reminds the viewer that there is never an easy answer.

Burtynsky’s work was not always like this. His first photography was inspired intensely by nature. Then, in order to find a new and unique way to interpret the landscape, he engaged in what he described as a “long term” change in style – a quest to find a “language within nature landscapes.” Burtynsky describes his early days of photography as competitive with every photographer trying to be “off the wall and avant garde” and that his style was his way of “pushing the parameters.” He speaks of the early days, when he would get into a car and kept driving from spring through autumn, just exploring different mines, moving from place to place based on the suggestions of locals he chatted with. His subjects that came from this process were the beginning of the dual engagement with beauty and destruction that characterize his work.

Changemaker

Although he believes that change lies in power and “power still resides in those who control money and government,” his photographs achieve something equally important –  a “building of consciousness” in the public that allows them to make informed choices. His first collaborative film, Manufactured Landscapes, focused on the ways manufacturing has transformed China. Featuring Chinese factories, it displays the stark reality of what it really means to be “made in China.” And that’s the response that Burtynsky says he receives to the movie – people are amazed and tell him, “I’ll never look at made in China the same way again.”

That is change. Even if art isn’t a typical method of engaging people in widespread change, Burtynsky’s photos definitely accomplish what he desires them to. He describes them as a “conduit between reality and reframing that reality” where the reframing is able to teach people something that they didn’t know before, bring their attention to the very real struggle between manufacturing and sustainability. He speaks of being “humbled” by water and its power and this metaphor seems to extend to the rest of his work. What humans have accomplished is beautiful and breathtaking but when considering our impact on the natural environment the resulting landscapes are truly thought provoking.