Facing the Anthropocene

Inspiration

Facing the Anthropocene

On our most recent expeditions to the Art Gallery of Ontario, we were able to behold a poignant new exhibition of photography and videography by Edward Burtynsky, Jennifer Baichwal, and Nicholas de Pencier called Anthropocene. The title refers to the epoch in which humans are the dominant terrestrial force—shaping ecosystems, the climate, and landscapes, for example, more than anything else—as we now are.

It’s easy to get lost in the largely-arial photographs (and a few videos) of sites of resource extraction, urban sprawl, and overgrown landfills. The imagery is so dense with visual detail and conveys so much information about such complicated situations that it’s hard to pull one’s attention from one work to another. We’re put in a profound position as viewers: Marvelling at the aesthetic beauty of these images while simultaneously facing the cumulative effects of our way of life and the potentially-catastrophic future they represent.

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