Robert Burley
Great Lakes - The Shared Horizon of Inland Seas

Curator :  Catherine Bédard

Opening on June 6, 2026, as part of Nuit Blanche

Spanning the border between Canada and the United States, making it disappear within its colossal, flowing expanse, the Great Lakes basin is home to millions of people, including Indigenous peoples from numerous First Nations and tribes. An extraordinary source of surface drinking water, among the largest in the world; a place of movement and exchange, commerce, work, leisure, travel, and meditation, but also of exploitation, danger, and vulnerability; this immense basin has been observed from the diversity of its shores by Robert Burley, one of the most important Canadian photographers of our time.

Here, the artist creates a body of work as unique as it is exceptional, where the grandiose beauty of this elusive expanse—at times soothing, at times unsettling – evolves into a reflection on the power of the contemporary image. Stripped of all anecdotal distractions, restoring the Great Lakes to their original grandeur, Robert Burley’s photographs beckon the viewer like enchanting sirens.

This project has been designated as part of the Bicentenary of Photography by the Ministry of Culture and forms part of the official programme for the Bicentenary, running from September 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027.