AnthropoScene, a collaborative, multimedia, and interdisciplinary art project, recently opened at the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Fine Arts (CFA).
Curated by Katti Sta. Ana, an assistant professor at CFA, the exhibit presents a disturbing scenario of the conclusion of the Anthropocene. The term was popularized by Nobel Prize laureate Paul J. Crutzen describing the present geological period where human actions have primarily shaped climate and environmental dynamics. It points to human activities as the cause of global warming.
AnthropoScene has two primary elements: a section of moving images projected on the wall depicting a super storm, and a section of desolate terrain, depicted by sand and soil on the ground filled with scattered remnants of flora and fauna made from dark ceramics.
According to Sta. Ana, the video was done by the UP Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology.
Meanwhile, the desolate terrain was made by members of the CFA community along with representatives from the UPD College of Arts and Letters, UPD Marine Science Institute, the UP Zoological Society, the Philippine Native Plants and Conservation Society, and the Jesuit seminarians. They spent two months creating ceramic representations of animal and plant remains, focusing on species most affected by climate change.
“There will come a time that we will all perish because of our doing. Iyong mga disaster na nangyayari ngayon at nakikita natin na maraming namamatay, they are human-induced incidents,” explained Sta. Ana.
She added that the exhibit is an expression of concerns. As an artist, this is her way of conveying the perils of the wanton disregard and abuse of nature and the environment.
The exhibit opened on Feb. 14 and will run until March 25 at the Gallery 1, UP Fine Arts Gallery.