Edward Burtynsky – Extraction / Abstraction

After the worldwide success of the exhibition Anthropocene, a multimedia exploration that documented the indelible human footprint on the earth, the photographer Edward Burtynsky continues its exploration on the impact of human action on the planet through a new exhibition which will be hosted in Italy for the first time in M9 – Museum of the 20th Century starting from 21 June 2024, after its debut at the Saatchi Gallery in London, UK.

The exhibition is the largest survey on the over forty-year career of the great Canadian artist Edward Burtynksy who dedicated his life to testifying to the environmental impact of the industrial system on our planet.

Curated by Marc Mayer, former director of the National Gallery of Canada and the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal, the exhibition features over 80 large format photographs, 10 high definition murals, one experience of Augmented Reality and a new section, called Process Archive, which will show the instruments and cameras used over the years by Burtynsky during his tireless navigation around the world.

Finally, the exhibition also includes the award-winning immersive multimedia projection of In the Wake of Progress, which will be screened in the new room M9 Horizons.

Burtynsky’s work focuses on what the artist describes as “large-scale industrial incursions across the planet.” Through a deep historical understanding of image-making and an impressive mastery of the photographic medium, Burtynsky invites his viewers to look at places that exist beyond our common experience, places that satisfy our desires and needs of the present but which, at the same time, determine the future of our habitat.