A stunning collection of photographs by internationally acclaimed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky will be on display at the WA Museum – Kalgoorlie-Boulder from tomorrow.
Australian Minescapes is a travelling exhibition from the Western Australian Museum and features powerful images of Pilbara and Eastern Goldfields mine sites.
Burtynsky’s photographic depictions of industrial landscapes are in the collections of major museums around the world including the Museum of Modern
Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris and the National Gallery in Canada.
Burtynsky’s work includes detailed and often stark images of recycling yards, mine tailings, quarries and refineries. He refers to his subject material as ‘manufactured landscapes’, saying that while all these places are outside most people’s normal experience, ‘we partake of their output on a daily basis’.
“These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear.
“Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.”
Western Australian Museum Chief Executive Officer Alec Coles said the collection of photographs provides a unique and visually stunning view of Australia’s vast mining powerhouses.
“Australian Minescapes is a significant collection for Australia: its extraordinary images meld the Australian landscape with our fastest growing industry to create something that is harsh, beautiful and dramatic. This is a challenging exhibition, yet one that is very easy on the eye!”
The work was commissioned by FotoFreo Inc with the support of BHP Billiton Iron Ore and the FotoFreo Angels, for the FotoFreo 2008 Festival.
Fact file
- This exhibition was gifted to the Western Australian Museum by Edward Burtynsky with the financial support of FotoFreo Inc.
- Edward Burtynsky is represented by Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto; Charles Cowles Gallery, New York; Flowers Gallery London.
- Exhibition on at WA Museum Kalgoorlie-Boulder from 9 December, 2011 until 11 March, 2012.
Denise Johnson
Western Australian Museum
9212 3860
0414 381 761
denise.johnson@museum.wa.gov.au
