Edward Burtynsky

Human beings now affect the Earth more than all other natural forces combined—so much so that scientists have coined a new epoch for it: the Anthropocene. Edwards Burtynsky is world-renowned for his jaw-dropping environmental photos—but he’s also an eloquent and insightful speaker on the environmental implications of this new era, seen through the lens of his camera. In his latest critically-acclaimed film Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, Burtynsky explores the impact of humanity on climate change. In a new talk, drawn from all he has witnessed on every continent save Antarctica, Burtynsky discusses—and demonstrates in his incredible, large-scale photographs—that we’ve reached an unprecedented moment in history. Burtynsky asks audiences to consider what drives us as a species, offering a wake-up call on the destruction caused by our dominance.

There is no life without water: the subject of Edward Burtynsky’s newest exhibition and book. In this immersive talk—which features his spectacular photographs—Burtynsky tells us the story of where water comes from, how we use it, distribute it, and waste it. He shows us its remote sources, the transformation of desert into cities with waterfronts on each doorstep, the compromised landscapes of the American Southwest. And, he explores the infrastructure of water management: the gigantic hydroelectric dams and terraced rice fields in the heart of China, the vast irrigation systems of America’s bread basket, and the use of aquaculture. Through his poetic images, Burtynsky reveals a vital component of life on earth, and foreshadows the extent to which our future depends on how we deal with this increasingly scarce resource.

In The Landscape of Human Systems, Edward Burtynsky presents a survey of his work, whether as large-scale colour photographs or more recently in film production, and discusses the intersection of his image-making process as an artist while exploring modern civilization’s troubling relationship with nature.