David Burdeny Oceans

David Burdeny’s recent series Oceans explores geological formations of water bodies in the Bahamas, Australia, and Europe, capturing the complex, abstract qualities of the deep sea. His scenes celebrate the natural world while revealing a precious and precarious resource below the surface. Serpentine sandbars stretch into a Bahamian horizon; Australian bays are sharply rendered fields of impossible blue. Long exposures—evident in views of Sicily—soften waves, revealing formations beneath the water. Human figures dotting the cliffsides cast long shadows, forming indelible marks on an otherwise untouched expanse. Oceans embodies the contemporary sublime as a way to present both a call to action to protect the environment, and a message about culpability. Receding vistas offer dreamy escapes, while human presence provides sobering realism. Like the physical depths his exposures reveal, Burdeny also unearths the layers forming the fraught connection between humans and their environment.

Burdeny holds master’s degrees in architecture and interior design, and is the recipient of notable photography awards including Photographer of the Year (Nature) at the International Photography Awards.

Curated by Danielle Park Wiseman and Clare Mintzer