Edward Burtynsky (courtesy the artist)
Toronto photographer Edward Burtynsky, who won a major international prize in London this week from the Sony World Photography Awards, says he is sharing his prize with photographers in Ukraine documenting the devastation of the Russian invasion.
"In the face of fake news and Putin’s vicious disinformation campaign, Ukrainian photographers are using this moment to show the world the truth," said Burtynsky, the son of Ukrainian immigrants.
"Their dedication to their art, even as their towns are surrounded by invading Russian forces bringing terror to their doorsteps, is a bravery that humbles me."
Burtynsky was named as the winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award, which honours a person or group that has had a significant impact on the medium. Previous winners include Gerhard Steidl, Nadav Kander and William Eggleston.
Burtynsky has earned international acclaim for his large-scale photographs of humanity's impact on the planet, including open-pit mines, massive factories and a Chinese hydroelectric project.
"My work over the last 40 years has given me the privilege to see the world, understand the problems that we are facing, and bear witness to it all with my camera," he said.
His photographs are in the collections of more than 60 major museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
He will launch a 22-minute multimedia project, In the Wake of Progress, on June 11 and June 12 at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto as part of the Luminato Festival.
Burtynsky has raised some $700,000 for Ukraine by promising prints of his photographs to donors who made $10,000 gifts to the Red Cross.
His parents, who met in Canada, were sent to Germany after the Nazi occupation of Ukraine during the Second World War to work as slave labour on farms. After the war, they stayed in Germany as Ukraine was then under Soviet rule, making their way to Canada in the late 1940s. His father eventually got a job on the assembly line at General Motors.
Burtynsky, who sits on the board of directors for Contact, Toronto’s international photography festival, and the Ryerson Image Centre, has received many honours, including the title of Officer of the Order of Canada.
Source: Sony World Photography Awards