[oil field maintained by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic, photographed by Edward Burtynsky (Manufactured Landscapes), via dpr-barcelona; visit Burtynsky’s website for additional images from the book]

Edward Burtynsky’s latest book and exhibition explores the landscapes of, machinery that produces, and products dervied from oil:

“When I first started photographing industry it was out of a sense of awe at what we as a species were up to. Our achievements became a source of infinite possibilities. But time goes on, and that flush of wonder began to turn. The car that I drove cross-country began to represent not only freedom, but also something much more conflicted. I began to think about oil itself: as both the source of energy that makes everything possible, and as a source of dread, for its ongoing endangerment of our habitat.”

I’m planning on getting to the exhibition while it’s in DC, and maybe thinking a bit about how problematic aesthetic delight at the sight of a vast oil field can be.