Programme

Festival Diary

Edward Burtynsky: Manufactured Landscapes, a film by Jennifer Baichwal

Dates: 19 June 2012
Venue: Tate Modern, Starr Auditorium
Address: Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG
Disabled Access: This event has wheelchair access
Map: View
Time: 6:30pm SHARP
Price: £12 (£9 CONCESSIONS) - SEE TATE TICKETING >

Jennifer Baichwal’s award-winning documentary centres on renowned Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky, whose large-scale photographs portray the devastating impact of industrial expansion on the environment.

Please not time correction, the event starts at 6:30pm.

The film follows Burtynsky to China as he travels the country photographing the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution. Sites such as the Three Gorges Dam, which is bigger by 50% than any other dam in the world and which displaced over a million people, factory floors over one kilometre long, and the breathtaking scale of Shanghai’s urban renewal are subjects for his lens and this feature length film. Baichwal observes the artist at work amid some of the most surreal landscapes of the 21st century: quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams and ship-breaking yards.

'I’m always interested in how humans shape the landscape. All my work is really about the pristine landscape being pushed back as a result of the expanding human footprint.''
Edward Burtynsky

Manufactured Landscapes is ostensibly a portrait of an artist, but as anyone who has seen Baichwal's previous work would expect, the film is far more than a straightforward portrayal. It is as much about the aesthetic, social and political dimensions of industrialisation and globalisation as it is about Burtynsky’s work and how his photographs are disseminated.

Manufactured Landscapes is a must-see for any well-rounded photographer. The film is breath-taking and mindboggling at the same time, and the festival is providing a rare opportunity to see it on the big screen, followed by a Q&A with Burtynsky.

This event is brought to you in partnership with Flowers Galleries.

FILM AWARDS INCLUDE:

Winner - Best Documentary – 2007 Genie Awards
Winner - Best Canadian Film – Toronto International Film Festival
Winner - Best Canadian Film & Best Documentary - Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Winner - Best Canadian Documentary, Atlantic Film Festival 2006
Winner - Best Canadian Documentary, Calgary Film Festival 2006

UK EXHIBITIONS

Don't miss Burtynsky's London summer exhibitons:

Flowers Gallery

Burtynsky: Monegros - Dryland Farming
23 May - 23 June
Flowers Gallery
21 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LZ

The Photographers' Gallery

Burtynsky: Oil
19 May - 1 July 2012
The Photographers' Gallery
16 - 18 Ramillies St, London, W1F 7LW

BIOGRAPHIES

Edward Burtynsky is known as one of Canada's most respected photographers. His remarkable photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are included in the collections of over fifty major museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Bibliotèque Nationale in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California.

Born in 1955 of Ukrainian heritage at St. Catharines, Ontario, Burtynsky is a graduate of Ryerson University (Bachelor of Applied Arts in Photography) and studied Graphic Art at Niagara College in Welland. He links his early exposure to the sites and images of the General Motors plant in his hometown to the development of his photographic work. His imagery explores the intricate link between industry and nature, combining the raw elements of mining, quarrying, manufacturing, shipping, oil production and recycling into eloquent, highly expressive visions that find beauty and humanity in the most unlikely of places. In 1985, Burtynsky also founded Toronto Image Works, a darkroom rental facility, custom photo laboratory, digital imaging and new media computer-training centre catering to all levels of Toronto's art community. Mr. Burtynsky also sits on the board of directors for: Toronto’s international photography festival, Contact and The Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre.

Jennifer Baichwal was born in Montréal and grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. She studied philosophy and theology at McGill University and received an M.A. in 1994, supported by a McGill Major Fellowship and a 2 year FCAR Master’s Scholarship. She has been directing and producing documentaries for 15 years.

Manufactured Landscapes, a feature documentary about the work of artist Edward Burtynsky, was a co-production between Mercury Films, Foundry Films and the National Film Board of Canada. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2006 and won Best Canadian Feature Film, and had since received a number of other awards, notably a Genie for Best Documentary, Al Gore's Reel Current Award and the 2006 Toronto Film Critics' Award for Best Canadian Feature and Best Documentary 2006. It played theatrically in over 15 territories worldwide, after a prolonged and successful run in Canada.