Elements as Absence | Abwesenheit der Elemente

Martin Burri’s four-part polyptych Elements as Absence investigates the physical and material breakdown of natural resources. Rejecting the classic iconographic tradition of depicting air, water, earth, and fire as vital, generative forces, the sequence addresses environmental degradation, entropy, and ecological loss across a continuous linear spatial axis. The works respond to contemporary crises—industrial smog, severe…