Edward Burtynsky

(left to right: two Burtynsky's and a McLean)

A recent trip to Toronto allowed for a pleasant morning in the Mira Godard Gallery in the fashionable Yorkville district. The goal of the visit to the gallery was to view and learn more about Edward Burtynsky, a Toronto-born photographer. The Mira Godard Gallery was first to represent him in his early days, in the 1960’s. It was not clear for what reason, but apparently, Burtynsky has left the Godard Gallery, and although they seem to have swallowed that bitter pill, they still have some amazing large scale photographs for sale, for USD $19,000! Apparently, Burtynsky style is to step up to an imaginary line of life and subject matter to capture a moment in time. The photographs we saw represent and focus on the ideas of deconstruction, recycling and living life in the midst of both. For the 3 Gorges Dam piece, snapshop depicts the Chinese workers who were paid very little to disassemble their own homes, to pile the bricks neatly into organized piles, to retrieve and save the rebar metal ropes which held the structures together again for future use while at the same time people are continuing to live in the village, hanging their laundry out in the dirty air and trying to get by in the middle of this controversial and major re-location project of 1,000’s of people. For the Shipbreaking piece, Bangladesh workers were paid about $.10/day to disassemble an aging, out-of-commission ship and to recycle the metal for scrap. You see workers, obviously poor, in bare feet or flimsy sneakers, walking over the dangerous area with metal on the ground – they too, are going to melt and recycle the ship’s metal for more rebar for a future-use project. While the images are so overwhelmingly industrial and dirty they are both ‘green’ recycling projects on an awesome scale. Close inspection of both really puts you at the line of viewing life and being viewed by it.

As we were leaving, we noticed another photographer: Melville McLean, based out of Maine. His work is amazing, even a little overwhelming. Landscapes are not a favorite of ours, but the quality of the photos is extremely eye catching and almost surreal looking, as the technique he uses is the layering of transparencies over each other (each focuses on a particular aspect, element or color) to bring out the most heightened color and vividness possible for the works he makes. Stones have a luminescent tonality, not because of the light of day, but because of the technique. He also focuses on nature/nurture, for example in Rocks, Plants, Sea and Fog 2007, below, the centuries old rock formations are the life line of the very healthy and living seaweed attached and living on it. We are wondering if he will be the next Edward Burtynsky – so someone to keep an eye on, especially with his large scale works priced at a third of Burtynsky’s. A trip to Toronto to the Gallery could be a beneficial and fun excursion.
The Mira Godard Gallery is located at 22 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto. http://www.godardgallery.com/.