FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LONDON, UK, May 14, 2018, 8:00 a.m. (GMT+1) — World-renowned artist Edward Burtynsky will be unveiling his first Augmented Reality (AR) Installation as part of his special exhibition during Photo London at Somerset House in London, UK, May 17-20, 2018 where he is being honoured as this year’s Master of Photography. 

The AR Installation, AR #1, Scrap Engine and Rims, Agbogbloshie Recycling Yards, Accra, Ghana 2017, invites visitors to explore the recycling of automotive machine parts from a scrap yard in Accra, Ghana in three dimensions. Made up of over 4,000 images seamlessly stitched together, the piece virtually recreates these objects within the exhibition space. Burtynsky's embracing of AR technology is a natural extension of his 40-year exploration of human systems and their impact on the planet.

"I like to think of photography 1.0 as the invention of photography and photography 2.0 as the evolution of photography to digital and the move from film and paper to everything on a chip. Now, for me, photography 3.0 is the use of the digital camera to capture an object in the third dimension,” said Burtynsky, who has been exploring expanding his work into the third dimension for more than five years. 

“Photo London will be my very first exhibition of this new art form. Thanks to powerful imaging software and advancements in computing power I am finally able to extend my lens-based art into augmented reality, creating installations that allow me to invite viewers directly into the photograph to scale with the objects– even allowing them to magnify and see the detailed minutia. It is a significant evolution of my work and I am honoured to showcase it at Photo London,” said Burtynsky.

“We are thrilled that Edward Burtynsky has chosen Photo London as the venue at which to exhibit his first Augmented Reality Installation,” said Michael Benson and Fariba Farshad, the co-founders of Photo London. “Burtynsky has always been at the forefront of pushing innovation in photography and expanding his art to include augmented reality at this level is very exciting”. 

Three new AR Installations will also be unveiled in September 2018 as part of Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier’s multi-disciplinary project, Anthropocene. Co-presented by the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Canadian Photography Institute (CPI) of the National Gallery of Canada, and co-produced with MAST Foundation, Bologna, Italy, the Anthropocene exhibitions debut on September 28, 2018 in Toronto and Ottawa, and feature new large scale photographs by Edward Burtynsky, alongside high-resolution murals enhanced by film extensions by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier, short films, and AR installations.The film, a book and a comprehensive educational program will be released in conjunction with the exhibitions.

ABOUT EDWARD BURTYNSKY

Edward Burtynsky is known as one of the world's most respected photographers. His remarkable photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are included in the collections of more than sixty major museums around the world, including the Tate Modern in London, the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California. His imagery explores the collective impact we as a species are having on the surface of the planet - an inspection of the human systems we’ve imposed onto natural landscapes.

Burtynsky’s distinctions include the TED Prize. In 2006 he was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2016 he received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. Most recently Burtynsky was named Photo London's 2018 Master of Photography. He has also received the Outreach award at the Rencontres d’Arles, the Roloff Beny Book award, and the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. He currently holds seven honorary doctorate degrees.

Edward Burtynsky lives in Toronto, Canada. 

ABOUT PHOTO LONDON

Photo London was created to give London an international photography event befitting the city’s status as a global cultural capital. Founded in 2015, it has already established itself as a world-class photography Fair and as a catalyst for London’s dynamic photography community. From the capital’s major museums to its auction houses, galleries large and small, right into the burgeoning creative community in the East End and South London, Photo London harnesses the city’s outstanding creative talent and brings the world’s leading photographers, curators, exhibitors and dealers together with the public to celebrate photography, the medium of our time. photolondon.org.

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