Edward Burtynsky Murrin Murrin Tailings Pond #2, Murrin Murrin Mine, WA, Australia, 2025

Viewed from above, these two images of the Murrin Murrin nickel and cobalt operation reveal a surreal interplay of saturated crimson and crystalline white-a tableau where industrial runoff meets geologic stillness. The intense colouration is not a Photoshop filter, but the actual hue of processed tailings: highly acidic waste byproducts laced with iron oxide sand residual compounds from ore refinement.

Situated in Western Australia's Goldfields region, Murrin Murrin is one of the largest producers of lateritic nickel and cobalt in the Southern Hemisphere-critical materials in the global battery supply chain. The vivid red tones signal the presence of oxidized iron, while the cracked textures and leached-out fringes at the bottom of the frame indicate cycles of evaporation and chemical deposition.

In these works, Burtynsky isolates an unsettling beauty, transforming environmental toxicity into lyrical abstraction. There are echoes here of his past engagements with mining waste-from the tailings rivers in Canada to potash lakes in the United States-but with a distinctly new palette.