Humans: Behave

Nothing lies beyond the reach of human impact, and barely any life-form exists without the chemical markers of human activity. What once appeared to us as a silent source has now gained a voice. It asks us to abide by an ecology in which it is not just humanity that is contingent upon the seasons of nature, but nature that is contingent upon human behaviour. The Anthropocene – the period which the anthropogenic has had the greatest effect upon nature – draws to a close as humanity becomes conscious of it, and yet the pastoral has undergone no great resurgence. It has tumbled down the hierarchy of images to the idiom of the screensaver. Arcadia exists only on the displays of MacBooks, in electronic stores, or from the window of an aeroplane, fringed with clouds. Costanza Chia’s artworks intend to rectify this.