(Ontario, 1955)
Edward Burtynsky nació en 1955 en St. Catharines (Ontario) y es considerado uno de los fotógrafos contemporáneos más prestigiosos. Su trabajo nos sumerge en el mundo contradictorio que nosotros mismos hemos creado. La belleza de sus imágenes colisiona frontalmente con el significado que encierran, ya que reflejan perfectamente el modo en que la naturaleza se ha visto alterada por nuestra intromisión, generando formas y composiciones que pueden resultar tan atractivas visualmente como preocupantes por aquello que evidencian: que la industria y la producción masiva son incompatibles con la preservación de la naturaleza.
La aportación que Edward Burtynsky realiza en Confinement Archive fue motivada por El día de la Tierra, celebrada el 22 de abril, donde el artista nos habla a través de un vídeo donde reflexiona sobre la crisis producida por el covid19 y su relación y coincidencia con la era de emergencia climática que vivimos y que cada día se agrava. Un problema del que sin duda, los humanos somos los máximos responsables.
Fuente original: www.edwardburtynsky.com
An Earth Day Message
An Earth Day Message From Edward Burtynsky
Right now the message of Earth Day, on its 50th anniversary, seems more urgent than ever. There’s no doubt that the ravenous human appetite to conquer nature has compelled us to encroach on natural habitats and biodiversity in an ever-expanding way, and that this has led us to where we are today — isolated at home with a new pathogen determined to wreak global havoc. It seems the paradigm has shifted: where humans once had our collective boot on nature’s neck, we now find ourselves with nature’s boot firmly pressed against ours.
Gerhard Richter once said that “art is the highest form of hope” and my hope is that during this time in isolation I am able to create a suite of images, going back to my roots and looking at nature, with proceeds going directly to support the art sector in Canada.
The arts have taken an oversized hit during these times and will continue to suffer enormously because of this crisis. And yet, it is the artists, musicians, filmmakers and performers to whom we are all turning for catharsis, relaxation, distraction, entertainment and, perhaps most importantly, hope. Artists now need our support as much as we need theirs.
I do not know what the next few months will bring, but in this time of isolation and contemplation, I can be assured of one very important thing: the future of life on this planet rests in our hands. There may one day soon be a vaccine for this virus, but there is no vaccine for climate change.
Until such a time as life can return to something we are a little more familiar with, please stay safe and be well.
– Ed