Ephemera | David Burdeny
David Burdney | Ephemera
October 13-27, 2018
350 Dundas St West, Toronto
Opening reception: Saturday, October 13, 2-4pm
Bau-Xi is pleased to present Ephemera, a solo exhibition featuring all new works by Canadian artist David Burdeny. These photographs represent two ephemeral landscapes in China; an ancient mountain landscape, set within the Anhui Provence of eastern China, and a temporary construct of ice in the northern city Harbin. Separated by geography and climate, these landscapes are spatially and culturally different, yet remarkably similar on a fundamental level. Both landscapes are born from their environment, exist within it, and then ultimately decay back into it with the natural processes of time. The icy city of colour will melt come spring, run down the banks of the Songhua River and return to whence it came, while the diffuse mountain views of Haungshan fade in and out of sight as airborne vapor makes it's way up from the valley below. In both cases, there is an infinite exchange of energy between the land and its environment as water turns to gas, then to liquid, then to solid, and we are left to admire the beauty and complexity of it all.
David Burdeny is an acclaimed Canadian photographer whose travel-inspired landscapes are characterized by unusually long exposures that result in detailed images and soft colour studies.
Burdeny describes his photography as ‘discovery-driven’ and has traveled to places including Antarctica, Iceland, Brazil, China, France, Italy and Cambodia in pursuit of his work. Influenced by notable photographers such Michael Kenna, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Fay Goodwin, David deliberately photographs in poor light and near darkness. He uses unusually long exposures to see that which our eyes cannot. Moving beyond the literal, his images have been described as ominous, haunting, beautiful and meditative.
Burdeny’s work has been exhibited internationally in numerous solo and group exhibitions. He is the recipient of many notable photography accolades, including Photographer of the Year in the Nature Category at the International Photography Awards. Burdeny’s work has been extensively collected and is included in both private and corporate collections. Most recently, editions of his newest works have been acquired by the HBC Global Art Collection in New York.