Anthropocene: On the Precipice  

This body of work explores the Anthropocene, a new geologic epoch of earth in which human activity has significantly impacted the planet.  These images along with Plastisphere and QR Code Birds address the multifaceted environmental problems that humans have created.  The installation of these images can be viewed here.

The Anthropogenic mineral triptych was inspired by the discovery of 208 new minerals formed due to human activity like mining and e-waste dumps. The images were produced by photographing  plastic sheeting with a polarizing filter to replicate a crystalline structure and to visually reference plastics origin in fossil fuels.

Plastiglomerate was first discovered on a heavily polluted beach in Hawaii. It is a rock-like material comprised of heated plastic fused with natural organic elements forming “future fossils”. My version of plastiglomerate combines naturally occurring minerals with plastic bottles to create an imagined geologic specimen. 

The zip bags and plastic water bottle images are inside of an acrylic block to present the irony of single-use plastics. These items are used for an average of 12 minutes and will take 500 years to degrade but they do not biodegrade, they photodegrade becoming microplastics that leach toxins into the environment.