

Edward Burtynsky, the photographer renowned for his monumental photographs that explore how human activity alters the landscape, has spent the last five years investigating our exploitation of a precious natural resource: Water. Spanning ten countries, “Water” may be his most ambitious project to date. “Over five years, I have explored water in various aspects; distress, control, agriculture, aquaculture, waterfront and source,” Burtynsky explains on the project’s website. Next month, Steidl will publish 114 of the images in a new book, Burtynsky –Water, and exhibitions will open at galleries in North America, Europe and the UK. A documentary about the project, Watermark, co-directed by Jennifer Baichwal, who directed Manufactured Landscapes, an earlier film about Burtynsky’s work, will be shown at the TIFF film festival in Toronto on September 6.

The film was shot in 5K high-definition video, to capture the details in his aerial views and landscapes: a ritual swim by worshippers in India’s Ganges River, an enormous dam in China, leather tanneries pumping water in Bangladesh, a suburban development sprawling across former desert in Arizona, dryland farming in Spain.

Even when seen on a computer screen, the trailer looks pretty great:



WATERMARK – Trailer from Flowers Gallery on Vimeo.

(You can also see the trailer on Vimeo.)

“Water” opens at Nicholas Metiver Gallery in Toronto on September 5. Other shows of Burtynsky’s work, including images from his project on water, open at Howard Greenberg Gallery and Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in New York City on September 19. You can view more of the images and see a full list of exhibitions on Burtynsky’s website here.

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