Anthropocene is the effect that mankind has had on the natural world. This has only come about in the past few centuries since the beginning of the industrial revolution, and has exponentially become a global problem.

This is a good topic for photography, mostly because it is everywhere, and a clear message can be received, for example, global warming.

There are 4 major signs of Anthropocene; agriculture, urbanisation, deforestation and pollution. Each of these are the root causes of the major problems mankind faces today.

When did Anthropocene begin and end?

Anthropocene Epoch, unofficial interval of geologic time, making up the third worldwide division of the Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to the present), characterized as the time in which the collective activities of human beings began to substantially alter Earth’s surface, atmosphere, oceans etc.

It began in 1950. The resulting radioactive particles were detected in soil samples globally. In 2016, the Anthropocene Working Group agreed that the Anthropocene is different from the Holocene, and began in the year 1950 when the Great Acceleration, a dramatic increase in human activity affecting the planet, took off.

What is the Anthropocene project?

The Anthropocene Project is a multidisciplinary body of work combining fine art photography, film, virtual reality, augmented reality, and scientific research to investigate human influence on the state, dynamic, and future of the Earth.

What is the main idea of Anthropocene?

The Anthropocene is sometimes used to simply describe the time during which humans have had a substantial impact on our planet. Whether or not we are in a new geological age, we are part of a complex, global system and the evidence of our impact on it has become clear.

What is an example of the Anthropocene?

The Anthropocene is a new, present day epoch, in which scientists say we have significantly altered the Earth through human activity. These changes include global warming, habitat loss, changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere, oceans and soil, and animal extinctions.

Why was Anthropocene created?

In the years since the term Anthropocene was coined by Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000, it has increasingly defined our times as an age of human-caused planetary transformation, from climate change to biodiversity loss, plastic pollution, megafires and much more.

Mood Board

This mood board shows the variations in Anthropocene. As you can see, each section of the mood board has different scenes and representations of what people believe Anthropocene looks like. However, all the ideas start off somewhere, for example, the top middle image could represent climate change/global warming. That is why the image has two main colours (blue to represent water, and red to represent the heat).

Jersey Areas that provide Anthropocene;

• Open Cast Mining – Quarries: Ronez, St Peters Valley, Sand Quarry St. Ouens
• Power Stations – La Collette, Bellozane Sewage Treatment
• Urbanisation – St Helier: Grands Vaux, Le Marais Flats, Le Squez etc.
• Mass Wastage – La Collette recycling centre
• Disposable Society – La Collette recycling centre – refrigerator mountains etc
• Land Erosion – farming industry: poly tunnels, packing sheds, plastic covered fields etc. Old Glass Houses
• Over Population – poverty/social divides: Social Housing sites. Car Parks, traffic etc.
• Industrialisation – La Collette area, Bellozane, industrial estates. Desalination Plant, German Fortification (WW2)