What is Anthropocene?
The Anthropocene Epoch is a unit of geologic time used to describe the period of time in which human beings began to make a significant, negative impact on the earth’s climate and ecosystems.
Anthropocene in photography is a form of activism that photographers have used in order to raise awareness of how us humans are impacting the planet. This type of photography is shown in all forms of landscape, portraiture and abstraction.
Examples of Anthropocene –
Landscape Anthropocene
Abstract Anthropocene
Portrait Anthropocene
Anthropocene inspired mood board
Plastic waste statistics
For my Anthropocene themed photoshoots, I want to focus on the aspect of plastic waste as I feel like plastic pollution is an instant thought when it comes to the topic of Anthropocene. Plastic pollution also has a direct link with both air pollution and sea pollution, which makes it one of the most threatening methods of destruction to both humanity and our environment
Nearly 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced every year, this almost equals the combined weight of the total human population. Ocean life suffers immensely due to this, which is proven by the fact that 73% of all litter on beaches worldwide is plastic, which has caused the tragic statistic of 1 million marine animals dying due to plastic pollution every year.
Although masses of plastics are produced globally on a daily bases, only a tiny portion of this is recycled, further generating plastic waste. The disregard for recycling plastic has lead to the suggested statistic that there will be 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic garbage discarded on land and in bodies of water by 2040.