Karen Knorr, The Queen's Room, Zanana, Udaipur City Palace, India Song, 2010, Colour pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Pearl Paper, 142 x 183 cm
Edward Burtynsky, Natural Order #14, 2020, Chromogenic color print, 122 x 162.6 cm
Sebastião Salgado, A tuna fisherman asleep on a net, Trapani, Sicily, Italy, 1991, Gelatin silver print
Steve McCurry, Venetian Canal, Italy, 2011, FujiFlex Crystal Archive Supergloss Digital C-Print
Lalla Essaydi, Harem #7, chromogenic print mounted to aluminum with a UV-protective laminate, 152.4 x 121.9 cm
Robert Polidori, Boiserie and curtain, Cabinet de la Méridienne, CCE.02.027, Corps Central - 1 er etage, Château de Versailles, France, 2007, Archival Pigment Inkjet Print, 182.9 x 152.4 cm
Exhibition
Inherent Beauty: Photographers That Changes How We See the World
09 Oct 2020 - 22 Nov 2020
Sundaram Tagore presents an exhibition of work by six world-renowned photographers who are deeply engaged with the environment and contemporary social issues. Each of these artists creates compelling visual narratives that explore our shared humanity and convey the beauty inherent in our diversity and in the natural world. Sebastião Salgado and Steve McCurry share a photojournalistic approach, recording human struggle and the impacts of conflict and globalization. Karen Knorr’s intricate images use ancient myths and allegories to frame issues of entrenched social constructs. Lalla Essaydi and Robert Polidori explore the human condition through intimate examinations of spaces, both real and symbolic. Edward Burtynsky photographs industrial landscapes around the world, laying bare the devastating impact of manufacturing and human consumption. A selection of images from Burtynsky's newest seriesNatural Order are included in this show.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Canadian photographer EdwardBurtynsky has always had a deep connection to the natural world. Over his 40-year career he’s documented the human impact on nature with captivatingly beautiful images of industrial landscapes around the globe. However, the closures this past spring provided him with an opportunity focus on the wild beauty of landscapes closer to home. His latest series Natural Order was shot in Grey County, Ontario, during the lockdown. For this series, Burtynsky turned his lens back to nature, particularly the change of seasons and the cycle of renewal, revealing the resilience of the natural order. These images recall his early works that explore Canada’s unspoiled landscapes.
As part of the Natural Order release, a limited-edition portfolio will be published that will include ten 20 x 24-inch photographs from the series in a linen-covered box. The portfolio will include a new book of the same name, published by Steidl. Burtynsky, together with Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto, will be donating $200,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the Natural Order portfolio to the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Ryerson Image Centre for the establishment of new acquisition funds dedicated to acquiring the works of emerging to mid-career Canada photographic artists.
Born in Brazil in 1944, Sebastião Salgado began his career as a professional photographer in 1973 in Paris. Since then, Salgado has made it his life’s work to document the impact of globalization on humankind. In the past three decades, he has traveled to more than 100 countries for his photographic projects and devotes years to each series in order to grasp the full scope of his topic.
London-based artist Karen Knorr uses photography as a method of critical inquest, employing opulent architectural monuments of Asia and Western Europe to frame issues of power and class structure rooted in cultural heritage. Her work, which is influenced by surrealism and the magical realism of Latin America, also explores issues of colonialism, exoticism, appropriation, and femininity as it relates to the animal world.
Magnum photographer Steve McCurry is best known for his evocative color images, many of which have become modern icons. He has travelled extensively around the globe to cover areas of international and civil conflict and document ancient traditions, vanishing cultures and contemporary culture. In each of his images he transcends cultural boundaries to capture the essence of human struggle, joy and unguarded moments. McCurry’s exquisite use of color and his unwavering commitment to retain the human element has made his images timelessly captivating.
Lalla Essaydi was born and raised in Morocco and educated in the West before moving to Saudi Arabia for several years. In her practice sjhe explore issues of gender, cross-cultural identity and the prevalent myths of Orientalism. Working across multiple disciplines, including painting, video, installation and photography, Essaydi challenges the social norms and hierarchies that shaped her life as a young girl in Morocco.
Robert Polidori is renowned for his evocative photographs of building exteriors and interiors. Altered by the passage of time and the people who have lived in them, his photographs are investigations into the psychological implications of the human habitat. Polidori, who was recently awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, has shot all over the world, from the decaying mansions that populate the landscape of Havana to the faded beauty of Goa’s colonial architecture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York commissioned him to photograph New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and exhibited those photographs to wide acclaim in 2006.
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