ANTHROPOCENE

an·thro·po·cene
The current geological period wherein human activities have a powerful effect on the global environment.

Anthropocene is an ongoing interdisciplinary body of work combining art and science to explore the complicated history and future of anthropogenic effects on the Earth’s systems. Through handmade paper and artist’s books the selected projects navigate our fragile planet from atmosphere to bedrock, examining ecological history and visualizing predictions of future global change. Through this project I am trying to change ecological consciousness.

Future Under Climate Tyranny (F.U.C.T)
(A 4° C warmer world), 2011
handmade paper (abaca, cotton, flax, wheat straw, beach and desert sand, soil, marine plastic, dried anchovies, dried shrimp, feather boa seaweed, dried garden plants, vegetable seeds, pigment), pva, acrylic

Future Under Climate Tyranny (F.U.C.T.) is a world map that visualizes our planet’s warmer future. Utilizing handmade paper with conceptually specific materials this project reveals the possible fate of familiar cities and prospects of unfamiliar territories, changes that will metaphorically turn our world upside down.

Fire to Fire: From the Big Bang to the Red Planet: A Timeline of the Earth’s Past, Present, and Future in Paper, 2011
handmade paper (abaca, cotton, flax, linen, campfire charcoal, red and green marine algae, lobster shell, dried anchovies, roots, ants, shed snakeskin, feathers, pressed flowers, fur and leather, egg shells, vegetable seeds, ground cloves, litter, coarse desert sand, beach sand, pigment), commercial paper, thread, pva, ink
36.5 x 7.5 x 2 inches (flat)

Fire to Fire is a timeline of the Earth’s past, present, and future in 31 different types of paper. Utilizing specific fibers, inclusions, and pigments each section refers to a particular event in the history and possible future of our planet.

Salty: LICK THIS BOOK, 2011
handmade papers (cotton, abaca, sea salt, table salt, pigment), thread, squid tentacles, pva

Salty must be tasted. Made with sea salt inclusions and formed salty water, this book references the taste of the ocean and is the inspiration for a future seawater papermaking studio.

Soil Horizons, 2011
handmade paper (abaca, cotton, flax, berries, plant greens, dead leaves, roots, soil, desert sand, pigment), thread, pva, hemp cords

Soil Horizons pays homage to the Earth’s dirty crust. With specific inclusions and pigments, the handmade paper explores different layers of soil from organic matter in topsoil to minerals in subsoil. The front and back covers represent the atmosphere, canopy, bedrock, and the Earth’s molten core, book-ending the internal soil horizons.

Thaw, 2010/11
handmade paper (cotton, flax, plant greens, pigment), thread, twigs

Thaw mimics the thawing of polar permafrost due to climate change. Bound, waterlogged, frozen for the winter, and thawed during the spring, the book is simultaneously decaying and growing, providing some hope for the future of our changing planet.