I’d been planning to spend the morning in Venice, but because of a Trenitalia strike there were no trains between Venice Mestre and Venice Santa Lucia and the bus that runs every half hour was of course absolutely packed. So I decided to stay in Mestre and visit the Edward Burtynsky exhibition at the M9 Museum of the 20th Century, which was being advertised all across Mestre. 

Extraction/Abstraction is the largest survey of Edward Burtynsky’s work so far and features photographs from his entire forty-year career. I first discovered the work of Edward Burtynsky back in 2003 when Manufactured Landscapes was published. I loved the aerial photographs, which bring out the abstract patterns that arise as a result of natural forces or human intervention. They reminded me of the abstract landscapes in another one of my treasured photography books, Taking Measures Across the American Landscape (1996) by James Corner and Alex S. MacLean.

I enjoyed seeing Burtynsky's photographs at billboard size and being able to admire all the details. At this size the photographs acquire a physical presence. Some of the images are absolutely amazing and border on abstract art. But the photo captions provide a reality check, because most of these emergent compositions are the collateral damage of large-scale industrial incursions on the planet. Those circles in the desert are pivot irrigation sites, most of which run dry after a couple of years, and those colourful dots in the landscape are salt ponds. Some photos are downright depressing, such as the ones of palm oil plantations in Borneo and the series of dead or dying olive groves in Puglia, which have been infected with Xylella fastidiosa.

I’m glad I visited the exhibition even though I would have preferred spending another morning in the historic centre of Venice. Staying in Mestre across from the train station seemed like a good idea, because hotels are relatively affordable, but next time I’ll be staying in the historic centre again.

If you can’t make it to the exhibition, it is accompanied by a book of the same title that you can buy from your favorite local bookstore.

Edward Burtynsky: Extraction/Abstraction is at the M9 Museum of the 20th Century in Venice Mestre until 12 January 2025. It was previously on show at the Saatchi Gallery in London.