Views of Lake Ontario
Photographs by Robert Burley
Robert Burley. Lake Ontario, Toronto #2. Taken 2008, printed 2011 Chromogenic print, 61 x 76.4 cm
Robert Burley. Lake Ontario, Toronto #3. Taken 2004, printed 2011 Chromogenic print, 61 x 76.4 cm
Robert Burley. Lake Ontario, Toronto #4. Taken 2009, printed 2011 Chromogenic print, 61 x 76.4 cm
Robert Burley. Lake Ontario, Toronto #5. Taken 2008, printed 2011 Chromogenic print, 61 x 76.4 cm
Robert Burley. Lake Ontario, Toronto #6. Taken 2007, printed 2011 Chromogenic print, 61 x 76.4 cm
The presence of nature in cities and landscapes in transition is at the centre of a project developed by Robert Burley. In his photographic series Great Lakes, begun in 2006, Burley delves into an aspect of this subject by depicting the natural features of Lake Ontario as seen from the Toronto waterfront.
Created using a large format camera and long exposures in the light of early dawn, Burley’s images capture the points of contact of land, water and sky. Taken from the same place, the images differ slightly in their point of view on the horizon and position the artist in relation to the site, facing the contemplative force of this landscape as it collides with the city sprawling behind.
The furthest downstream of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario receives pollutants from human activities that have greatly affected its ecosystem over the past two centuries.
