Musings on Burtynsky's Extraction/Abstraction: What role can art play in mitigating climate change?

Co-founder Gemma La Guardia argues that artists have a moral duty to push the discourse on protecting the environment, drawing on Burtynsky's Extraction/Abstraction exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery.

Photo credits: Saatchi Gallery

If one message rings out from Edward Burtynsky’s mammoth exhibition, Extraction/Abstraction at the Saatchi Gallery in London, it is this: the foundations upon which our society is built are predicated on violence, domination, and exploitation, and causing untold harm by accelerating climate change.

Wandering through the galleries, the gashed face of the earth appears again and again. Rivers of red water gush through the frames against a background of dark earth, juxtaposed with the serene images of untouched landscapes. The innards of potash, lithium and copper mines, mountains of tires, blocks of waste, the effects of extraction and pollution appearing in dizzying colour and shapes are balanced against wall to wall murals of healthy and flourishing coral reefs. 

This is not by accident. In Burtynsky’s own words: “I have spent over 40 years bearing witness to how modern civilization has dramatically transformed our planet. At this time, the awareness of these issues presented by my large format images has never felt more urgent. [...] I hope the exhibition experience will continue to provide inflection points for diverse conversations on these issues and move us all to a place of positive action.”

The exhibition is a play on how human processes interact with art. As per the title, extraction is the process of mining natural resources from the ground, while abstraction is a synonym, which also means the process of making something abstract - something that Burtynsky leans towards. The composition and colours of the photos often resemble painted works and abstract art. 

Leaving the exhibition in a more sombre mood than upon entering, two questions remained: How do we create a society that functions in the way that we need it to, without causing undue harm to the planet? And what role does art play in helping to create that? 

Movement towards a more sustainable world and net zero has been too slow, while the pace of climate change outstrips many scientists’ wildest predictions, widening the gap between target emissions reductions needed to avert climate catastrophe, and the actual path we are currently on. It takes more than individual recycling and buying less clothes - it requires holistic, system-level change. It requires, at a policy level, checks and balances on everything - carbon taxes to punish those who use or manufacture highly emissive technologies or products, investment into transportation infrastructure, and a revamping of our school curriculums in order to cultivate a new generation that understands the risks posed by climate change and prioritises mitigating them. It requires investment into the things that don’t make the headlines - like large-scale raw material recycling, power pylons, and undersea pipelines. 

But this leads me to the next question - what role does art have to play? As Burtynsky’s lifetime of work shows, art is needed to hold up a mirror to society, to reflect the best of it, and the worst of it. As artists, we have a duty to observe, research, bring to light the parts of society that are overlooked in daily life, to turn on its head what we take for granted. Art is inherently political, and in the unprecedented climate crisis we are in, it is needed more than ever. As Burtynsky does, artists need to bring to light the parts of our society that we would rather not see - the ugly parts - and hold us accountable to the way our daily actions affect those around us and our world. 

Rationally, there is no situation in which we will stop mining for potash, lithium, copper and iron or generating waste, or any of the other basic processes that power today's society. But there are ways in which we can make it less resource intensive and work with the surrounding communities to make extraction less polluting. But while these jobs can be left to the engineers of this world, artists have the responsibility to drive public debate, shift opinions and ultimately put pressure on those who have the power to undertake systematic changes to do so.