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Burtynsky, Edward
(b. 1955)Shipbreaking # 38, Chittagong, Bangladesh

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Aus dem Katalog
Fotografie des 19. – 21. Jahrhunderts (Katalog nur online verfügbar)
Auktionsdatum 29.11.2025

Shipbreaking # 38, Chittagong, Bangladesh. 2001. Chromogenic print. 86 x 68 cm (104 x 86 cm). Signed, titled, dated and editioned "9/10" by the photographer on label on the verso, framed under museum glass in wooden frame.

Edward Burtynsky’s "Shipbreaking" series (2000) examines the vast and hazardous process of dismantling decommissioned cargo ships on the beaches of South Asia, primarily in Alang, India, and Chittagong, Bangladesh. The series emerged from the photographer’s long-standing interest in industrial landscapes and environmental transformation. Prompted by new regulations following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Burtynsky became intrigued by the fate of obsolete single-hulled tankers and cargo ships - monolithic structures too massive for conventional scrapyards. His photographs depict immense ship carcasses looming over laborers who, with minimal equipment and safety measures, manually break down these steel giants for salvage.
Through large-scale, formally composed color images, Burtynsky captures the tension between the epic scale of global industry and the human effort required to sustain it. The stripped hulls, rust-streaked surfaces, and scattered debris evoke both the sublime and the tragic, portraying shipbreaking as both a monumental act of recycling and a stark reminder of economic disparity and environmental degradation. As with much of Burtynsky’s work, the Shipbreaking series invites reflection on the hidden costs of globalization and the fragile balance between progress and exploitation. – In excellent condition.