BURTYNSKY, Edward - Oil

Background information, personal statement by the Canadian Edward BURTYNSKY

"In 1997 I had what I refer to as my oil epiphany. It occurred to me that the vast, human-altered landscapes that I pursued and photographed for over twenty years were only made possible by the discovery of oil and the mechanical advantage of the internal combustion engine. It was then that I began the oil project. Over the next ten years I researched and photographed the largest oil fields I could find. I went on to make images of refineries, freeway interchanges, automobile plants and the scrap industry that results from the recycling of cars. Then I began to look at the culture of oil, the motor culture, where masses of people congregate around vehicles, with vehicle events as the main attraction. These images can be seen as notations by one artist contemplating the world as it is made possible through this vital energy resource and the cumulative effects of industrial evolution." (© Edward BURTYNSKY)

Additional information

The photo volume 'Oil' by Edward BURTYNSKY has been published as English edition - in three print runs - as well as in French language.

About Canadian photographer, Edward BURTYNSKY (b.1955)

Photo books by and with works by Edward BURTYNSKY