Edward Burtynsky, Coal Mine #1, North Rhine, Westphalia, Germany (detail), 2015, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Coal Mine #1, North Rhine, Westphalia, Germany (detail), 2015, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Explore the impact of human activity on Earth through photography, film installations and interactive technologies.
Anthropocene is a major contemporary art exhibition featuring new works from the collective of Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier.
Through a variety of techniques, the three Canadian artists have created a spectacular and compelling visual experience inviting reflection upon the environmental and ethical issues surrounding our exploitation of Earth’s resources.
Presenting some thirty new photographic prints along with high-definition murals by Burtynsky and film installations by Baichwal and de Pencier, Anthropocene explores the effects of human activity on the planet in artworks that are at once subtle and striking. Bringing us images of places such as the Dandora landfill in Nairobi, log booms on Vancouver Island, and the Gotthard Base railway tunnel in the Swiss Alps, the collective takes an unprecedented look at the pervasive and complex repercussions of our modern way of life.
Visitors can also immerse themselves in areas undergoing rapid change, thanks to augmented reality installations and visitor-activated films. Download the AVARA mobile app in advance from the Google Play or Apple App Store or use one of the available devices in the exhibition.
This exhibition is a component of The Anthropocene Project.
Join the conversation! #AnthropoceneProject
Anthropocene is organized by the Canadian Photography Institute of the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario, in partnership with Fondazione MAST.
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an•thro•po•cene
(n) Proposed as a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene is defined by the permanent impact of human activities on Earth, such as terraforming through mining, urbanization and agriculture; human-caused extinction and biodiversity loss; and the global presence of materials such as plastics and concrete.
Edward Burtynsky, Cerro Dominador Solar Project #1, Atacama Desert, Chile, 2017, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Cerro Dominador Solar Project #1, Atacama Desert, Chile, 2017, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Phosphor Tailings Pond #4, Near Lakeland, Florida, USA, 2012, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Phosphor Tailings Pond #4, Near Lakeland, Florida, USA, 2012, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Saw Mills #1, Lagos, Nigeria, 2016, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Saw Mills #1, Lagos, Nigeria, 2016, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Salt Pan #21, Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India, 2016, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Salt Pan #21, Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India, 2016, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Coal Mine #1, North Rhine, Westphalia, Germany, 2015, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Edward Burtynsky, Coal Mine #1, North Rhine, Westphalia, Germany, 2015, photo © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy of Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto
Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier, Gotthard Base Tunnel, Gotthard, Switzerland, 2018, image from the film installation. Photo courtesy of Anthropocene Films Inc. © 2018
Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier, Gotthard Base Tunnel, Gotthard, Switzerland, 2018, image from the film installation. Photo courtesy of Anthropocene Films Inc. © 2018
De Pencier’s video art installations with Jennifer Baichwal include Watermark Cubed at Toronto’s Nuit Blanche 2014, Music Inspired by the Group of Seven with the Rheostatics in Walker Court at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2015, and Ice Forms, an installation room produced as part of the Lawren Harris Exhibition at the AGO in the summer of 2016.
Most recently, de Pencier and Baichwal were co-directors (and de Pencier DOP) of Long Time Running, a feature documentary of the Tragically Hip’s iconic 2016 summer tour. Produced by Banger Films, the film was a Gala presentation at TIFF 2017, and was later released by Elevation Pictures and broadcast by Bell and Netflix. De Pencier is on the Board of Directors for both Hot Docs and DOC Toronto.
Burtynsky’s distinctions include the TED Prize, the Outreach Award at Rencontres d’Arles, the Roloff Beny Photography Book Award, and the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. He sits on the Board of Directors for CONTACT: Toronto’s International Photography Festival, and the Ryerson Gallery and Research Center.
In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and, in 2016, he received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. Most recently, Burtynsky was named Photo London's 2018 Master of Photography, and the Mosaic Institute’s 2018 Peace Patron. He currently holds eight honorary doctorate degrees.
Manufactured Landscapes, created with de Pencier and Burtynsky, has received a number of awards, including TIFF’s Best Canadian Film and Al Gore’s Reel Current Award. The film has played theatrically in more than fifteen markets worldwide, and was named as one of 150 Essential Works in Canadian Cinema History by TIFF in 2016. The team’s feature documentary Watermark premiered at TIFF 2013, and won the Toronto Film Critics Association prize for Best Canadian Film. It has since been released in eleven countries. In recent years, de Pencier and Baichwal have expanded into film-installation work, and have exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario and Toronto’s Nuit Blanche, among others. Baichwal was also co-director, with de Pencier, of Long Time Running, a feature documentary on the Tragically Hip’s poignant final tour. The documentary premiered at TIFF 2017, and was released by Elevation Pictures, and broadcast by Bell and Netflix.
Baichwal sits on the Board of Directors for Swim Drink Fish Canada, and is a member of the Ryerson University School of Image Arts Advisory Council. She has been a Director on the Board of the Toronto International Film Festival since 2016, and is a passionate ambassador for their Share Her Journey campaign, a five-year commitment to increasing participation, skills, and opportunities for women behind, and in front of, the camera.
Did you know?
Anthropocene will be presented simultaneously at the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario from September 2018 to the beginning of 2019. Learn more about the Toronto experience.
Artists Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier explain how the word Anthropocene inspired their new project.
Get a first look at our Anthropocene exhibition with Andrea Kunard, Associate Curator, Canadian Photography Institute.
Anthropocene at the National Gallery of Canada is bullfrogpowered with 100% green electricity.
Bullfrog Power's generators put 100% green power into the grid to match the amount of conventional electricity the exhibition uses, displacing energy from polluting sources. Across Canada, Bullfrog's green electricity comes from a blend of wind and low-impact hydro power sourced from new Canadian renewable energy facilities.
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