After researching different object, portrait and abstract photographers and analysing their techniques to portray ‘Anthropocene’, I have decided to focus my project on landscape photography as I would like to demonstrate how man-made structures are increasingly impacting our natural environment. I plan on capturing landscapes around Jersey in three different stages; the first highlighting the beautiful natural areas in reservoirs and woodlands, the second showing areas of Jersey where nature can still be seen however man’s impact is taking effect and the third exhibiting the cluttered industrial landscapes of our island. My concept is to produce three final images in a sequence, with each image showing the increasing levels of environmental destruction and foreshadowing how a future of mass industrialisation is growing closer every minute.
Anthropocene is the word used to describe Earth’s most current state, a time where humans are the primary source and most influential factor of global warming, climate change and other changes to land, environment, water, organisms and the atmosphere. For the last 11,500 years, Earth has been in the Holocene Epoch. It began at the end of the last ice age, when the glaciers that had previously covered Earth disappeared, over the years humans have built cities and achieved colossal technological advancements. Scientists are still debating the proof for the Anthropocene and are looking for what’s known as a ‘golden spike’ – a marker in the fossil record which could demarcate the Holocene from the Anthropocene. Some people suggest the Anthropocene began at the start of Britain’s Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century, which created the world’s first fossil fuel economy.
Anthropocene In Photography
In recent years, photographers have taken it upon themselves to use their skills in order to capture the devastating Anthropocene state of our world. The portrayal of this destruction has been photographed through many mediums as well as just landscapes, such as portraiture, object images and abstract photography. Photographers such as Steven Gallagher and Naomi White have demonstrated their opinions and ideas on Anthropocene through capturing plastic bags, whereas Alexandra Bellissamo has taken portraiture based images to show the relationship between nature and mankind. Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky, and Jennifer Baichwal are the team which collaborated on ‘The Anthropocene Project’. The project was described as ‘a multimedia exploration of the complex and indelible human signature on the Earth’ capturing ‘the most spectacular evidence of human influence, while taking time to reflect on the deeper meaning of what these profound transformations signify’. More information on ‘The Anthropocene Project’ can be found here.
