Edward Burtnysky on climate crisis: ‘We should be screaming fire… but we’re rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic’
Photographer Edward Burtynsky says people should be “screaming 10 alarm fire right now,” due to the urgency of the climate crisis. Instead, he says “it still feels like we’re rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”.
The 69-year-old Canadian artist has re-invented landscape photography, spending the last 40 years documenting man’s dominance over the planet.
He explores human impact across the world – in all its beauty and bleakness.
But does he see any conflict in creating beautiful images documenting such devastating impact on the earth?
He tells Sky News: “My work is revelatory, not accusatory.
“Every living species takes something from nature to survive, and we as a top predator, take quite a bit from nature to survive.
“All these things I’m showing would be perfectly fine if there were one billion human beings on the planet. The fact that there’s eight billion makes it a problem. It’s just too much of a good thing.”
His large-scale panoramas both celebrate and question human ingenuity, challenging his audience to look beyond their backyard.
They also act as a critical reminder of what could be at stake without urgent changes to the way we use the planet’s resources.
Coast Mountains, British Columbia, Canada. Pic: Edward Burtynsky/Flowers Gallery
Born in Ukraine, Burtynsky’s parents moved to Canada after the Second World War. His father – who gave him his first camera as a child – died when he was just 15.
Precipices and helicopters
The necessity to earn enough money to allow him to study photography led him to find work in big industry, working in both the auto and mining industries as a young man.
“I moved far north and worked in big mines. And I got to see those worlds, first-hand. And I think it was that kind of opening my eyes to this other world that gave me the idea that most people haven’t really seen these worlds”.
Progressing from standing on the edges of perilous quarries and mines to get his shots (admitting, “my mother didn’t approve, it was sort of dangerous”), he now uses helicopters to get his aerial images.
Kooragang of Coal Terminal, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Pic: Edward Burtynsky/Flowers Gallery
Over four decades, his photography has seen him travel to multiple countries across every continent (except for Antarctica), with his works included in the collections of more than 60 museums around the world.
Disappearing rivers of ice
His recent trip to photograph the Coast mountains of British Columbia, Canada, for his latest exhibition – New Works – was a stark reminder of a swiftly changing world.
From his bird’s eye view, he could see the glaciers – which date as far back as 150,000 years – had receded dramatically compared with 20 years ago because of warming as a result of human activity.
Not only a visible measure of man’s impact on the environment, the disappearing rivers of ice will go on to impact the ecosystems that rely on their meltwater.
Burtynsky’s new collection also explores soil erosion in Turkey, and the impact of coal mines in Australia.
Salt Lakes, North-East Tuz Lake, Turkey. Pic: Edward Burtynsky/Flowers Gallery
He admits it’s sometimes frustrating trying to relay the urgency of the climate emergency message.
‘Our legacy is troubled’
“We have this particular moment in time and things are evolving rapidly. I’m trying to invoke a sense of urgency out there… This is actually scientifically being charted and we’re pretty good at predicting what to expect.”
His environmental message – which is his life’s passion – is deeply held.
“I have two daughters and I want them to have a chance to have a family, too. So, if you know, the legacy that we’re leaving behind is troubled.
But his ecological vigour is also rooted within his personal knowledge of big industry. He says our use of the world’s most valuable resources is not something that can just stop, but instead needs careful planning, with alternative energy incentivisation, to help us transition to more sustainable methods.
Erosion Control, Yesilhisar, of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Pic: Edward Burtynsky/Flowers Gallery
So, what’s his view on the growing army of climate activists drawing attention to the cause by doing ever more extreme things to hit the headlines – particularly when that involves demonstrations in art galleries?
‘I understand the frustration’
“I understand why culture and the arts in particular can be a target, and somebody trying to bring attention through art celebrity. And that’s what’s happening, they’re taking a famous painting and throwing some paint on it… Or gluing themselves…
“I would think that demonstrating in front of the companies that are causing the problem might be a better place – to go direct to the source of the problem. But I understand the frustration.”
Erosion Nallıhan, Ankara Province, Turkey. Pic: Edward Burtynsky/Flowers Gallery
As for the renewed scrutiny on the source of funding for some of our big arts institutions, including galleries and museums accepting money from big oil companies, he says it’s a tricky path to navigate.
‘Be careful what you wish for’
“The line in a way is dangerous because you can all of a sudden find out that culture is no longer viable.
“I think as well, the oil companies have to transition, and they can do a lot to make a difference.
“We still need oil in the meantime until the transition occurs, [and we should] be careful what we wish for, because if all of a sudden the oil stopped tomorrow, I’d call that anarchy.
“We wouldn’t have food coming into the cities. We wouldn’t have transport working, everything would come to a screeching halt. So we are, unfortunately, still bound to that energy source for the foreseeable future.”
Ravensworth Coal Tailing, Ravensworth Mine, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia,. Pic: Edward Burtynsky/Flowers Gallery
Part of that future, he believes, lies in the essential role that art can play in raising ecological awareness.
‘There’s still time’
“Artists have a role and creativity has a huge role in the future, because we have to reinvent our world. We have to find a world that isn’t built on this consumer culture saying the more stuff I own, the happier I am.
“I think everybody’s finding that that’s a bit of a shallow value system that may have been sold to us by some very influential advertising campaigns.”
So, should viewers of his work feel optimistic or pessimistic on leaving the gallery?
“I hope people can walk away saying there’s still time to do something.
“I think pessimism tends to lead to cynicism that nothing will work, so [people think] ‘Why should I bother? I’ll just carry on business as usual’. And I don’t think that’s the right attitude.”
Coast Mountains, Monarch of Ice Cap, British Columbia, Canada. Pic: Edward Burtynsky/Flowers Gallery
But alongside that optimism, Burtynsky’s clear-eyed on the challenges the world is facing.
Atmospheric rivers, water bombs and heat domes
“The storms are coming – we’re hearing all kinds of new terminology: ‘Atmospheric rivers’; ‘water bombs’ – these the massive amounts of water hitting a city all at once; ‘heat domes’. All of these new terms to try and describe what’s coming.
“The fire seasons have already started early, Texas is having one of its worst fire seasons ever, and it’s a month and a half, two months early.”
Coast Mountains, receding of glacier, British Columbia, Canada. Pic: Edward Burtynsky/Flowers Gallery
He concludes: “It’s a question of how quickly we’re able to cease and desist the worst activity that we’re doing, which I’d say right now is CO2 loading in the atmosphere and is our most immediate problem.
“We’ve got a lot of problems, and I think if people are going to act, they need to act. The time for words is way over.”
Edward Burtynsky New Works is showing at Flowers Gallery until 6 April.
A retrospective of his work, Extraction /Abstraction, is showing at the Saatchi Gallery until 6 May.
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Manchester’s beleaguered Co-op Live arena has finally officially opened its doors after weeks of setbacks, cancellations and postponements.
The venue was initially due to fully open with two Peter Kay stand-up shows on 23 and 24 April, but these dates were pushed back when problems emerged at a test event headlined by Ricky Astley.
The Co-op Live’s new opening night was then due to be 1 May when US act A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie should have performed – but this was cancelled at the last minute as fans queued outside.
The view inside the Co-op Live, as seen by Sky News reporter Shingi Maraike
In the fortnight since, numerous other acts have been forced to postpone or move their Co-op Live gigs but the doors have finally opened to fans, with Manchester band Elbow taking to the stage this evening.
The show reportedly got under way a little late, with London band The WAEVE as the support act, the first to take to the stage as the massive arena began to fill with people.
Elbow took to the stage shortly after 9pm, with singer Guy Garvey shouting “let’s open this venue properly”, according to What’s On Editor for the Manchester Evening News Jenna Campbell, writing on X.
Co-op Live bosses said inspections have taken place ahead of tonight’s gig. Pic: PA
More than two weeks after Co-op Live should have fully opened, concertgoers are finally inside. Pic: PA
Elbow’s Guy Garvey. File pic: AP
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s last-minute cancellation two weeks ago came after part of the venue’s ventilation and air conditioning system fell from the ceiling during a soundcheck.
The venue’s boss said today that the accident could have been “catastrophic” if it had happened just 15 minutes later.
Read more: All the Co-op Live gigs cancelled or postponed
Signs Co-op Live is still a work in progress
The fact that the opening of Co-op Live has been beset by issues was not lost on Dermot and Diane as they stared up at the sleek black structure with a capacity of 23,500.
The couple, who had travelled from Lancaster, said they already had a Plan B to go to the Trafford Centre in Manchester for a meal if the concert failed to go ahead. As an Elbow fan, Diane saw the concert as an early treat for her 60th birthday.
Another group who travelled from Norwich for five hours also had their own backup plan if things didn’t go as they had intended.
Less than a month ago, the arena still looked like a building site, with workers in hard hats surrounding it.
This evening, there was not a crane in sight as the queue began to build. As scheduled, the gates opened at 6.30pm and hundreds of people slowly streamed in through the security gates, scanning their own tickets on the way into an atrium that had a huge LED screen taking up most of one wall, flashing with the names of the headliners.
Some people walking into the arena audibly gasped at its sheer size. From the self-scanning tills to the lights lining the escalators, the venue is as modern and sleek as advertised, but there were also signs that Co-op Live is still a work in progress.
Some security and hospitality staff seemed to be playing catch-up with the technology, while police officers in the venue were deep in conversation with both staff and Manchester City Council. Meanwhile, a woman hovered around the atrium with a notepad to check all the screens were working.
For this multi-million-pound venue and its financial backers, the first crowds through the doors and first notes finally being played must have come with a huge sigh of relief.
Pic: PA
Tim Leiweke, chief executive of the arena’s operator Oak View Group, told BBC News: “They didn’t put the bolts in. It wasn’t visible to the eye and it fell out.
“So we [have since] got that double checked and triple checked. We’ve looked at thousands of bolts up in that ceiling now. We’ve looked at the life safety lines. And we were going to take our time to make sure we did this right.
“There was no way we were opening the doors until we checked every screw and every bolt and every one of those 95 shafts.”
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Co-Op Live delays explained
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
A number of Elbow fans at the venue admitted they were feeling “apprehensive” ahead of the gig.
“When you go anywhere you want to know about the structural integrity of the place you’re going to,” said Samantha, 51, who did not want to share her surname.
“I know all venues have to start somewhere but as long as they say everything is fine, that’s as reassuring as it can be.”
With a capacity of 23,500, Co-op Live is the UK’s latest indoor arena and it cost £365m to build.
Entertainment
Cannes Film Festival 2024: The Apprentice to the new Mad Max – five films to look out for as stars hit the red carpet
This year’s Cannes Film Festival is getting under way with, as always, a French movie opening proceedings and celebrities lining the red carpet.
Lea Seydoux is among the stars in The Second Act, which tells the story of actors working on a doomed movie production – a delightfully wicked way to kick off the world’s most famous film festival.
Away from opening night, here are five more films playing at Cannes that are worth keeping an eye on.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Pic: Warner Bros/ Domain Pictures
A post-apocalyptic action adventure, this is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road – which won six Oscars and is largely regarded as one of the best action films ever. Furiosa is by the same director, George Miller, and early reviews suggest it’s somewhat different to its predecessor but equally brilliant. With stars including Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hardy, it should be a great way to kick off summer blockbuster season – in cinemas from 24 May, so audiences who aren’t on the French Riviera don’t have long to wait too long.
Megalopolis
Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in Megalopolis. Pic: American Zoetrope
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola‘s self-financed passion project is playing in competition at the festival. The filmmaker is reported to have spent several decades and more than a million dollars of his own money making the sci-fi, which is described as a Roman epic fable set in an imagined modern America. The ensemble cast includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman – and as Coppola’s first film to be released since 2011, expectations are high for this one.
The Apprentice
Jeremy Strong (lawyer Roy Cohn) and Sebastian Stan (Donald Trump) in The Apprentice. Pic: Apprentice Productions Ontario / Profile Productions/ Tailored Films
As Donald Trump continues to grab headlines in the US, this film looks at the former president’s life before politics, his career in real estate in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, but little else is known about the drama ahead of its world premiere at Cannes. Promoters say it tackles themes of power, corruption and deception – so now it’s a watch and wait to see if the billionaire has anything to say about his life becoming fodder for the big screen.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Horizon: An American Saga
Kevin Costner in Horizon: An American Saga. Pic: Warner Bros
Another passion project making its way to the south of France is the first half of this two-parter Western co-written, starring and directed by Kevin Costner. The actor first pitched a version of this movie back in 1988 so it’s been brewing since long before the Western drama series Yellowstone that he’s been busy with during recent years. Audiences will be going in knowing they won’t get the whole story, and with a 181 minute running time it’s quite the commitment – but perhaps not as big as Costner’s himself; he’s personally financed the films, which currently have a budget of almost $100m.
Kinds Of Kindness
Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe in Kinds Of Kindness. Pic: Searchlight Pictures
Mere months after Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things won four Oscars, the director has got the gang back together for a new film premiering at Cannes, also starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley. Described as a “triptych fable”, the film tells three stories that are loosely connected. Known for his strange tales and specific vison, while Lanthimos’s movies aren’t for everyone they certainly can’t be accused of being dull. However, with little to be gleaned from the teaser trailer that’s been released so far, it will be all eyes on Cannes to see what audiences make of this one.
The creator and star of hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer has issued a fresh plea to fans to stop trying to discover the identities of characters in the show – and warned he will refrain from commenting for good.
Described as a true story, Richard Gadd’s series – in which he plays barman and aspiring comedian Donny Dunn – sparked an online frenzy over the real-life identities of some of the characters – including a stalker played by actress Jessica Gunning.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Gadd called on fans to stop their searches, saying: “If I wanted the real life people to be found, I would’ve made it a documentary”.
Gadd also said he was concerned any further comment on identities would cause yet more speculation.
“I’ve spoken publicly about how I don’t want people to do it and if I start playing a game of whack-a-mole, then I’m almost adding to it,” he added.
“I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again.”
Gadd’s character Donny is stalked by a woman named Martha Scott, played by Jessica Gunning. Pic: Netflix
It follows a previous appeal in an Instagram story, when Gadd said: “People I love, have worked with, and admire… are unfairly getting caught up in speculation.
“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show.
“Lots of love, Richard.”
Baby Reindeer is about the traumatic life of a struggling comedian who is stalked by a woman called Martha Scott and is sexually assaulted by someone seemingly high up in the entertainment industry.
In the opening sequence of the series, viewers are told in an on-screen message: “This is a true story.”
A woman alleged to be the inspiration for the stalker character of Martha has since appeared in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan, saying she was “forced” to come forward after receiving online death threats from “internet sleuths”.
Fiona Harvey repeatedly denied being a stalker and described the series as “a work of fiction”.
When asked if she will “categorically be taking legal action”, she replied: “Absolutely, against both him (Gadd) and Netflix.”
Read more from Sky News:
‘Ghostbusters-style’ devices could be given to police
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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Gadd’s interview with the Hollywood Reporter was published on Monday but was carried out before the Morgan interview with Ms Harvey aired.
Gadd also revealed he lost almost 20 kilos to play the role because he wanted “to feel vulnerable and fragile” in his body so when filming was over “there was a bit of piecing myself back together”.
“To play Donny Dunn, I had to go back to that head space where I was at the time [in real life], which was very raw and very damaged,” he added.
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