Before the Flood

Edward Burtynsky's work concerns itself with landscape changed in the pursuit of progress and this has never been more fully rendered than in his most recent work, The Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze, China. The Three Gorges Dam, when completed in 2009 was the largest concrete structure in the world, producing some 84.7 billion kilowatt hours per year as well as having displaced over 1.8 million people and submerging over 8000 archeological sites under water. As with his other series, Burtynsky has produced troubling and strikingly beautiful photographs in Before the Flood, both rich in detail and exactingly composed, that chronicle humankind's ever larger impact on the environment.

Both impressed with the scope of the project and astounded at the environmental, humanitarian, and historical ramifications it portends, Edward Burtynsky set about photographing the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China. That the dismantling of entire cities, displacement of nearly two million people, and destruction of historical sites was deemed an acceptable cost in the face of "progress" is a startling statement on our relationship to our world. These photographs are incredibly detailed, revealing the enormity of this project through relatively minute reference points, such as people and construction equipment.

Before the Flood was produced in very limited numbers.