dryland farming

all photographs by edward burtynsky.

in the monegros region, man is not quite there yet. nature fights back with a jagged set of teeth & claws, evoked by the rugged geometries of the land & the bold patches of topography that twist & convulse along highly expressive lines. in the flurry of interlocking patterns & colors, one can pick out a miniscule house or two, rogue architecture in the midst of a rich expanse of semi-wilderness. likewise, the famland reveals moments of order, but from these remarkable perspectives, the land is vastly untamed, refusing to heed like the american suburbs. here, man's will to control is tangled up within nature's sobering beauty, producing incredibly original works of art that buzz with the energy of abstract expressionism & grip us with the visceral quality of primitive cave paintings.

dryland farming is currently showing at the bryce wolkowitz gallery & the howard greenberg gallery in new york until december 10, 2011.

nature transformed through industry

jubilee operations #1, kalgoorlie, western australia, 2007

iberia quarries #1, marmetal co., borba, portugal, 2006

nickel tailings no. 36, sudbury, ontario, 1996

oxford tire pile #9b, westley, ca, 1999

scrap auto engines #11, hamilton, ontario, canada, 1997

photographer edward burtynsky says his images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction & repulsion, seduction & fear. we are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction.