Signed; Edward Burtynsky - Éléments essentiels - 2016

With an introduction by William A. Ewing and an essay by Joshua Schuster, Essential Elements is the first monograph of Edward Burtynsky in French. This work provides an overview of the Canadian photographer's oeuvre across four decades, through a learned confrontation of emblematic and unseen images imagined by the artist and William A. Ewing.

The book explores Burtynsky's work through five parts that combine his unique visual language with his attachment to exploring inaccessible landscapes. This selection of 140 photographs, enriched with texts drawn from previous publications and articles by Burtynsky himself, offers a comprehensive understanding of the artist's gaze on the world.

Edward Burtynsky (1955-)

Born in Saint Catharines, Canada, Burtynsky began photography at 11 when his father gave him a camera and a darkroom. A graduate in photography and media from Ryerson University in Toronto in 1982, he also earned a diploma in graphic arts at Niagara College in Welland, Ontario. In 1985, he founded Toronto Image Works, a laboratory and centre for analog and digital photography. His work explores humanity's impact on its natural environment, notably in the series "Quarries" (1991-1992) which traverses the mines of the world, or "Oil Refineries" (1999-2001) which documents the devastated landscapes of oil exploitation. Author of numerous well-known photographic series ("Shipbreaking", in 2000, "Water", in 2008), he is also involved in the documentaries "Manufactured Landscapes" (2006) and "Watermark" (2013).

Edward Burtynsky has received numerous distinctions, such as the Rogers Prize for Best Documentary, the Infinity Award of the International Center of Photography, or the Humanity Dialogue Prize at the Rencontres d'Arles.

Copy in near mint condition, signed by Edward Burtynsky