Tendency to Collapse (Anthropocene Anarchive)

May, 2022, Collar Works, Troy, NY

exhibition text PDF

Dining table, asphalt, concrete, table salt, roadside herb hydrosol, dirt perfume, edible waste (apple peels, fish heads, trash herb pesto, dehydrated limes, charcoal bread, compost cookies)

Digital prints, two-channel video

This work explores the collapse of material categories in an epoch where distinctions between ‘natural’ and ‘man-made’ are increasingly irrelevant—the Anthropocene. This term marks an era where mankind has the greatest impact on planetary systems, causing us to reconsider the differences between nature and culture. The installation focuses on waste as a site to reconsider our material encounters with the environment, suggesting that taste and smell can be relational forces to counteract destructive binaries. Two Anthropocene “landscape” tableaus were sited on the gallery floor, where guests could forage for edible components. Media and sensory artifacts (food and perfumes) relate to wastescapes, neglected urban sites, and landfills. Edible artifacts were created in collaboration with chef Josh Coletto of Nighthawks.

Waste fish product donated in part by Hudson Valley Fisheries.
Asphalt donated by Ellie Irons.