The following photographs, selected from his series “Quarries,” “China,” and “Ships,” provide a global perspective on the cycle of extraction, production and recycling. They provide a visual journey through the quarries of Vermont; China’s manufacturing conglomerate; the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and destruction of the nearby cities and towns that displaced over 1.2 million people; and ultimately, to the manual dismantling of oil tanks in Bangladesh.
They open a troubling window onto our modern existence and its consequences.
QUARRIES
Rock of Ages #15, Active Section, E.L. Smith Quarry, Barre, Vermont, 1991. © Edward Burtynsky.
Iberia Quarries #2, Marmorose EFA Co., Bencatel, Portugal, 2006. © Edward Burtynsky.
Rock of Ages #39, Active Section, E.L. Smith Quarry, Barre, Vermont, 1991. © Edward Burtynsky.
Rock of Ages #4, Abandoned Section, Adam-Pirie Quarry, Barre, Vermont, 1991. © Edward Burtynsky.
CHINA | MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing #6A, Hongqingting Shoe Factory, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 2004. © Edward Burtynsky.
Manufacturing #6B, Hongqingting Shoe Factory, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 2004. © Edward Burtynsky.
Manufacturing #10A, Cankun Factory, Xiamen City, 2005 (detail of original diptych). © Edward Burtynsky.
Manufacturing #10B, Cankun Factory, Xiamen City, 2005 (detail of original diptych). © Edward Burtynsky.
Manufacturing #11, Youngor Textiles, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, 2005. © Edward Burtynsky.
Manufacturing #17, Deda Chicken Processing Plant, Dehui City, Jilin Province, 2005. © Edward Burtynsky.
CHINA | THREE GORGES DAM
Dam #6, Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze River, 2005. © Edward Burtynsky.
Feng Jie #3, Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze River, 2002. © Edward Burtynsky.
Feng Jie #4, Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze River, 2002. © Edward Burtynsky.
CHINA | RECYCLING
China Recycling #24, Cankun Aluminum, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, 2005. © Edward Burtynsky.
SHIPS | SHIPBREAKING
Shipbreaking #4, Chittagong, Bangladesh 2000. © Edward Burtynsky.
Shipbreaking #5, Chittagong, Bangladesh 2000. © Edward Burtynsky.
Shipbreaking #8, Chittagong, Bangladesh 2000. © Edward Burtynsky.
Shipbreaking #11, Chittagong, Bangladesh 2000. © Edward Burtynsky.
Shipbreaking #52, Chittagong, Bangladesh 2000. © Edward Burtynsky.