Fotografiska Shanghai
Jing’an District, Shanghai

Abstraction and the Altered Landscape, by artist Edward Burtynsky, will be one of the four opening exhibitions at Fotografiska Shanghai. During the 40-year evolution of Burtynsky’s artistic practice, abstraction has increasingly become a central mode of expression for him. While there may be photojournalistic overtones in these works, the deeper concern is a desire to create large, detailed, painterly images into which the viewer is drawn not only by their formal aesthetic appeal, but also by the underlying subject matter.

Sublime yet detailed, most of the photographs in this exhibition were taken from fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and drones, so there is a visual continuity in seeing the landscape from lofty perspectives, revealing the designs, structure and scale of the Earth’s surface. Technologies such as remote-controlled drones has allowed for more precision in selecting viewpoints, where Burtynsky often eliminates the horizon line of a landscape to enhance the sense of abstraction.