Shipbreaking 26 - Chittagong, Bangladesh
Artist
Edward Burtynsky
(Canadian, born 1955)
CultureCanadian
Date2001
MediumChromogenic print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper
DimensionsOverall, Image: 40 × 50 in. (101.6 × 127 cm)
Overall, Frame: 52 × 62 in. (132.1 × 157.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 52 × 62 in. (132.1 × 157.5 cm)
SignedSigned on reverse, numbered AP1
PortfolioEdition AP1
Credit LineGift of Suzanne and Vincent Mastracco
Object number2014.19
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a large format color photograph. It depicts three ships in various states of dismantling. The foreground of mud and water is paradoxically appealing as it is bathed in morning (or evening?) sunlight giving the whole composition a golden hue. Human activity is evident although humans are barely visible. A large rusting ship, substantially deconstructed, dominates the middle ground. Two more ships, further in the background on the mudflats, flank the central vessel. A sense of stillness and balance pervades the whole composition.Label TextEdward Burtynsky Canadian, born 1955 Shipbreaking 26—Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2001 Chromogenic print (photograph) Beautiful yet unsettling, this photograph of a shipbreaking site demonstrates the monstrous scale of human industry and its toll on the land. Photographer Edward Burtynsky made the image as part of a series that started after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, when insurance companies refused to continue coverage of seafaring singlehulled ships. The uninsurable ships were decommissioned and sent to sites like this one where workers pulled them apart for recycling and disposal. Like magnificent skeletons decomposing on the shore, their rusting frames are a striking reminder of how our human desire for progress and prosperity permanently alters the earth. Gift of Suzanne and Vincent Mastracco 2014.19ProvenancePurchased by Suzanne and Vincent Mastracco from Charles Cowles Gallery, New York. Gift of Suzanne and Vincent Mastracco to Chrysler Museum of Art, December 2014.Exhibition History"Our Community Collects: From Durer to Warhol and Beyond," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, September 21 - December 31, 2011. "New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016. "5 Years of Photography: Building the Chrysler Collection," Photography & Focus Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 26 - November 10, 2019. "Message in a Bottle: Picturing Maritime Culture in Hampton Roads," Barry Art Museum, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, April 12, 2024 - January 5, 2025.
