22.3.08

How dare they compare me to Burtynsky...!





A few months ago I was touting the work and looking for a gallery to represent me here in smokey old London. Since my return from the States (I will share this adventure some other time) I am still with American galleries which serve me quite well but all this weak dollar business I may as well get paid in magic beans, so I thought representation here would make sense. Little did I know that in the space of three years a lot of the 'approachable galleries' had either down sized or disappeared completely. It was very disheartening. But that was nothing compared to what was to come.
I got myself in to see one of the 'big' galleries, you know the type, one in London, one in New York, one in Tesco. They flicked through my work like it was a phone directory and then told me:
"Its just too Burtynsky for us, try somewhere else" Now I am a very calm patient person, I have to be with these hour long exposures. But I also lift weights, have a good strength to weigh ratio and have no hair to pull (a bit like an Ultimate Fighter). I could of flattened the both of them, but no, I just told them to do there research and left without an arrest. What bothered me the most was how little these people knew about photography and how if they had actually looked at the work they would see no resemblance to EB at all.
I have tried my best to find a few comparisons regarding EB and myself MD but it was very difficult (see if you can guess which are mine and which are Burtynsky from the selected images) And Mr. Burtynsky, if you are reading this which I am sure you are, I just want you to know I am an admirer of your work, but some may say its just too similar to mine.

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