Description

 

Anthropocene refers to the current period of Earth’s history, in which human presence has become evident in geologic strata. The popularized term refers to global long-term impacts from cumulative human activities. Erratic progress in caring for Earth, as well as my career addressing environmental issues, motivated me to assemble this exhibit. Accordingly, I created some pieces to suggest humanity’s fraught relationships with Earth and its non-human beings. 

 

I chose other pieces to imagine events in deep time in which Earth is oblivious to human inhabitants. The satirist George Carlin once said “Compared to the people, the planet is doing great: been here four and a half billion years! …The planet has been through a lot worse than us. …We’re going away and we won’t leave much of a trace….The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas...”

 

I also wanted to complement visual art with written voices calling out from the Anthropocene. Given the multi-generational implications of the exhibit’s subject matter, I commissioned a group of local poets, from early teens to late 70s, to express their reactions to the artwork. I am hoping that the combination of visual art and poetry will invite viewers to reflect on what kind of ancestors they would like to be. 

 

This project is supported by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County.

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