Shipbreaking #23, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Artist
Edward Burtynsky
DateNegative 2000, print 2001
MediumChromogenic print
DimensionsImage: 26 1/2 × 34 in. (67.3 × 86.4 cm)
Mat: 35 3/4 × 42 1/2 in. (90.8 × 108 cm)
Frame: 37 × 44 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (94 × 112.1 × 3.8 cm)
Mat: 35 3/4 × 42 1/2 in. (90.8 × 108 cm)
Frame: 37 × 44 1/8 × 1 1/2 in. (94 × 112.1 × 3.8 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Jamie Brunson and Dr. Mark Levy, 2021
Object number2022.15.4
DescriptionFrame is almost fully filled with image of a distressed black metal surface, interrupted with large with pipes and valves. A man with bare feet, his legs crossed at the ankles, wearing beige pants and a long-sleeved button-front shirt stands at bottom center.eMuseum Notes
The extreme contrast between the scale of the human body and the enormous ship that fills the picture is part of Burtynsky’s strategy for evoking a sense of wonder in his series “Shipbuilding.” After single-hulled ships were decommissioned as a result of the disastrous 1989 oil spill from the supertanker Exxon Valdez, Burtynsky was fascinated by the idea of these massive vessels being disassembled. “I looked upon the shipbreaking as the ultimate in recycling,” he said, and traveled to India and Bangladesh to bring back images of this extraordinary operation.
On View
Not on view
