WHAT IS Anthropocene?

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Since the Industrial Revolution began, human activity has substantially changed the atmosphere. Carbon-dioxide levels are higher today than they have been in at least 800,000 years. The ocean’s pH is changing at an unprecedented rate, reaching levels of acidity that animals have not experienced in the last 20 million years. We are living in a time many people refer to as the Anthropocene. Humans have become the single most influential species on the planet, causing significant global warming and other changes to land, environment, water, organisms and the atmosphere. t is widely accepted that our species, has had such a significant impact on Earth and its inhabitants that we will have a lasting – and potentially irreversible – influence on its systems and environment

Photography is a great way to tackle the problem of Anthropocene, as with pictures you can easily and clearly display the impact our species has had on this planet better than using words. Photographs that portray Anthropocene is a great way to create awareness of the problem and create new solutions to tackle the problem as well as more people tackling the problem. Photographers have been working to spread the cause of tackling Anthropocene, one example of this is an exhibition known as “The World to Come: Art in the Age of the Anthropocene”, featuring 45 artists, many of them photographers, whose work addresses human impact on the environment. The exhibition title refers to the current geological era, named the Anthropocene because most scientists consider human activity to be the primary force behind rapid, changes to the earth’s climate and ecosystems.

Examples of Anthropocene photography

Ideas of photo locations for this topic

  • Industrial sites
  • Landfill sites / the dump
  • Large landscapes such as the sand dunes
  • Heavily littered areas
  • heavily populated areas such as St. Helier

Ideas of different photography skills for this topic

  • Abstract images
  • Portraiture
  • Landscape photography
  • Identity based images
  • Studio based images
  • Photo-montaged images
  • Object based images

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