SPECIAL AWARD

Outstanding Contribution To Photography Award

Edward Burtynsky, Canada

Widely regarded as one of the world’s most accomplished contemporary photographers, Edward Burtynsky is best known for his sweeping images of industrial landscapes and the wider environmental crisis.

Over a dozen large-scale photographs will be presented as part of the Sony World Photography Awards 2022 exhibition at Somerset House, London. The selection was made by the artist, and highlights key bodies of work and themes over his 40-year career.

The selection includes epic scenes from ‘Anthropocene’ (2018), which offers an examination of human activity and the influence it has on Earth and its systems.

Visitors can also see images from ‘Oil’ (2009), regarded as Burtynsky’s seminal work and a 12-year chronicle of the complex oil cycle and humankind’s dependence on this finite resource.

Being presented in the UK for the first time will be images from his forthcoming series ‘Africa’ (2022), a look at both the natural African landscape, as well as areas that have been transformed through resource extraction. Other Burtynsky projects represented in the exhibition include ‘Salt Pans’ (2016), ‘Water’ (2013) and ‘Railcuts’ (1985).

Commenting on his work and acceptance of the award, Burtynsky says: “I am very excited to accept this award. My work over the last 40 years has given me the privilege to see the world, understand the problems that we are facing, and bear witness to it all with my camera. The different photographs in this exhibition are best viewed as one body of work; together they are a lament to the loss of nature. There is a dynamism to each image – they allow the viewer to go up close and unpack things, to understand the scale, and really dig in.”