THE STORY BEHIND THE PRINT

For the Salt Pans series, Edward Burtynsky traveled to Gujarat, India, to photograph the Little Rann of Kutch — an expansive, seasonal saline desert that spans roughly 5,000 square kilometres. This volatile region transforms dynamically from a monsoon wetland into a harsh, cracked clay landscape for eight months of the year, providing a staging ground for more than 100,000 seasonal salt workers known as the Agariyas. For over four centuries, these artisanal communities have painstakingly hand-packed and dug rectangular clay pans to pump sub-soil brine from deep beneath the earth, yielding approximately one million tons of crystal salt annually. Yet, it is a way of life hanging in the balance; modern environmental shifts, receding groundwater tables, and plummeting market values threaten to make this gruelling, historic industry obsolete, causing these sprawling pans to vanish completely into the landscape.

From an aerial vantage point between 500 and 800 feet above the ground, Burtynsky captures this unique, threatened environment as an intricate tapestry of multi-coloured interlocking rectangles stretching across the delta. Throughout the early 2000s and mid-2010s, his work moved increasingly toward abstraction, driven by a fascination with how topographical perspectives reveal striking parallels between industrialized landscapes and abstract painting. Salt Pans represents a definitive continuation of this trajectory, leveraging subtle modulations of mineral-driven tones and a meticulous compositional balance. The delicate calligraphy of vehicle tracks and human footprints etched into the clay offers a vital sense of scale, charting the profound human activity below. Ultimately, Salt Pan #12 stands as a powerful testament to the fragile equilibrium between natural systems and human necessity—capturing both the inherent presence of salt within the earth's composition and our relentless drive to harness it.

Ed is particularly fond of Salt Pan #12 for the unique way this specific stretch of the Gujarati landscape translates from an aerial perspective. Viewed from above, the highly organized, modular rows of the salt pans mirror the structural layout of analogue photographic contact sheets—a subtle, nostalgic nod to traditional film history embedded directly within the geometry of the earth.

THE STEWARDSHIP EDITIONS RELEASE

For over four decades, Edward Burtynsky has documented the monumental scale of human industry and its impact on the planet. With this special new release, launching in Fall 2026, he introduces a format that extends this dialogue into a more personal space.

Conceived not as a departure from his traditional, large-scale works, but as a deliberate continuation, this release presents these photographs in an intimate 22.5" x 30" size, edition of 25.

This scale shifts the experience to quiet contemplation, and marks a direct-to-collector invitation for a new generation to live with these vital environmental narratives daily, passing the torch of awareness forward and actively participating in the stewardship of our changing earth.

As part of this release, Burtynsky will dedicate 10% of profits from the sale of each print to Instituto Terra — founded by Lélia and the late Sebastião Salgado. 

ABOUT INSTITUTO TERRA

Instituto Terra is a Brazilian non-profit organization founded in 1998 by Lélia Wanick Salgado and Sebastião Salgado, in the Doce River Valley, a region in the heart of the Atlantic Rainforest that has been shaped by and still confronting environmental degradation.

What began as a personal commitment to restore the land has grown into one of Brazil’s most recognized environmental initiatives. Through large-scale ecosystem restoration, environmental education and sustainable rural development, Instituto Terra works to regenerate forests, protect water resources, and support the livelihoods of local communities.

Over the years, millions of trees have been planted, transforming barren land into thriving Atlantic Forest. At the same time, educational programs engage children, youth, and rural producers, fostering a culture of environmental stewardship and long-term resilience.

By reconnecting people, land, and knowledge, Instituto Terra demonstrates that ecological restoration can also be a pathway to social renewal and shared prosperity.

institutoterra.org