Existing comment:
Bearing Witness
Burko has photographed major sites of climate change on Earth, and she turned some of the photographs into archival prints. These prints do not overtly document climate change; rather, they pay tribute to the still extraordinary beauty of the disappearing gla ciers and the poignancy of dying coral reefs.
Top row. Burko's work on glacial melt draws upon her expeditions to the three largest ice fields in the world: Svalbard (in the Arc- tic Circle), the Antarctic Peninsula, and Ilulissat (Greenland). Ilulissat Glacier, the fastest moving glacier in the northern hemisphere, is melting at an unprecedented rate and has significantly contributed to sea level rise.
Bottom row. Warming oceans have caused massive bleaching of the coral reefs that circle the globe. At particular peril is Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the largest living structure on Earth. Other threatened sites include Alega and Utulei Bays in American Samoa. In 2017-18, Burko photographed the color- ful diversity and complex structures of coral reefs, organisms with animal, vegetable and mineral components.
Top row, (left-right):
Over Ilulissat 2, Detail, 2014 Kronebreen Above 3, 2014
Lemaire Channel 2, January 19, 2003 Kronebreen Above 2, 2014
On the Crevasse, Detail, 2014 To Ilulissat, Detail, 2014
Bottom row, (left-right)
Great Barrier Reef B Detail, 2018 Utulei Bay 1/11/18, 2018 Alega, January 7, 2018 Hovering Over Utulei Bay 1, 2018 Alega Bay 2, 2018
Drone Over Alega Bay 2, 2018 Archival inkjet prints Courtesy of the artist |