Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky has made his mark capturing the images of "manufactured landscapes" - the colossal quarries, mines and dams of the world.

His awe-inspiring pictures of the off-kilter beauty generated by man's rape of the planet have never come freighted with political comment. What you see is what you get.

So it's an intriguing premise to see what makes him tick as he captures China's Three Gorges Dam project or the lightning growth of Shanghai with his camera.

Unfortunately, we never really do see what makes him tick as Burtynsky remains a peripheral figure, only occasionally volunteering some revealing titbit of information.

It's obviously been his policy to let his pictures do the talking so this pans out as a rather pointless showcase for images that pack more punch on a gallery wall.

Occasionally, something will work well. The eight-minute tracking shot along the shop floor of a South Korean mega-factory is awe-inspiring by virtue of its sheer scale.

Political insight, however, is of a rather pedestrian variety although Burtynsky does tell us that water has to be shipped into one Chinese village because computer waste has penetrated the water table.

What you can't take away is the terrifying beauty of landscapes ranging from the Bangladeshi breakers' yards to Shanghai's voracious building programme.

Tim Evans