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‘We’re all incriminated:’ Behind the scenes with Ed Burtynsky as he prepares to mount his immersive, scathing new film, In the Wake of Progress

By Irena Galea
The Globe and Mail

Burtynsky’s newest work is a 22-minute film that forces viewers to reckon with the global environmental and human impact of industrialization.

The boy on the screen leans against his metal tools in Chittagong, Bangladesh, to the sound of a warped orchestra. He’s dwarfed by the blackened hull of a ship looming behind him. It’s no longer being covered by insurance, so somebody, somewhere, has to take it apart. He got the job.

The hazardous working conditions he endures are propped up by the same developed countries where his photograph might be viewed, as Western shipowners often outsource their shipbreaking to Asian countries such as Bangladesh, exploiting cheap labour and a lack of workplace regulation.

Read the full article here.