Anthropocenic: Art About the Natural World in the Human Era

Anthropocene is the name (coined in 2000) for a proposed epoch that defines the time on earth since humans began to significantly impact the climate. Scientists continue to debate the starting point, and even the existence, of this era. However, activists and artists are elbow deep in the concept; painting, sculpting, documenting and defining the realities of our shifting world. Anthropocenic: Art About the Natural World in the Human Era, an exhibition at the Bates Museum of Art, invites us into the conversation.

This is a large show in a relatively small space. Work from the 17 artists / collaborators selected includes oil paintings, sculpture, photography, infographics, mixed media, digital prints and video. The overwhelming volume and emotional heft of the content at times feels claustrophobic, yet this is more than offset by the quality of the work.

Sammy Baloji, Untitled 13, 2006, archival digital photo on satin matte paper, 24 x 94½”, courtesy of the artist and
Axis Gallery, New York.

Artist Isabella Kirkland’s work is reminiscent, in both style and execution, of John Audubon’s masterful folios. Taxa Series (2008) documents ecological imbalance as a result of human interference. Descendant, Ascendant, Back and Gone are digital prints of four of the original six thematic paintings in the series. In each piece, the composition of the plant and animal life is deliberately old-fashioned and formal with lush, richly textured subjects against a neutral “studio” background. Thematic collections of extinct, threatened, vibrant and domineering species are arranged as exquisitely as a centerpiece for a state dinner.

Untitled 13 (2006) by Sammy Baloji is a work that confronts the viewer directly and in stark terms. The layered image depicts the ravaged landscape of an empty industrial site—as well as the likeness of a man wearing a metal yoke and heavy chain. Despite the air of abandonment and haunting, there also exists a quality of immediacy and relevance to the picture. It demands the viewer acknowledge human beings as a part of the larger ecosystem and that industrialization brought with it the pillage of both natural resources and human beings—a reality that continues today.

With forest fires raging, sea levels rising and dire predictions of an imminent mass extinction in the news, this engaging show offers a fresh perspective on the conversation using art as the language.