Edward Burtynsky: The Great Acceleration

Over four decades of Burtynsky’s urgent photographic practice capturing the destructive impact of human activity on our planet

Published with International Center of Photography, New York.

A retrospective of Edward Burtynsky’s (born 1955) photography from the past 40 years, The Great Acceleration reveals the depth of the photographer’s investigation into the human alteration of natural landscapes around the world, showing their present fragility and enduring beauty in equal measure. ＂The Great Acceleration＂ is an established term used to describe the rapid rise of human impact on our planet, among them population growth, water usage, transportation, greenhouse gas emissions, resource extraction and food production, each of which Burtynsky has photographed the signs of in great detail throughout his career. From open pit mines across North America to oil derricks in Azerbaijan, from rice terraces in China to oil bunkering in Nigeria, Burtynsky has traveled the world and back again as part of his restless and seemingly inexhaustible drive to discover the ways, both old and new, that organized human activity has transformed the earth. Including many of Burtynsky’s landmark images, and which have never been published, the book is an urgent call to action, inviting us to appreciate the sublimity that remains in nature while deepening our understanding of the challenges and responsibilities confronting us today.