Planet of Man

Human behavior is having a significant, unprecedented impact on the Earth. Nature no longer shapes us; we shape nature and in doing so we are interfering substantially in the Earth’s ecosystem. In just one lifetime, the face of the Earth has changed dramatically. Planet Earth has become the planet of man.

Even in the most remote regions, we find evidence of human activity. We have become a geophysical superpower that is comparable with major forces of nature. A growing number of scientists are speaking of a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene (from the ancient Greek: anthropos, man). It is supplanting the Holocene that began roughly 11.000 years ago with the end of the last Ice Age.

Homo sapiens has always impinged on the delicate cycle of the biosphere and the geosphere. What has changed so fundamentally and radically in the last 60 years is the incredible speed and enormous extent of this intervention. We are creating a new planet that is hotter, species-poorer and more hostile and we are both the perpetrators and the victims.

The exhibition Planet of Man wants to cast light on this epoch-making upheaval. It deals with questions such as: What are the cultural implications of losing nature as an unspoiled entity? Why is it often impossible for us to establish a bond between knowledge and action? How are we going to live in a world that has changed so irreversibly? What options do we have? Eight artists have addressed various aspects of these issues.

Betty Beier, Adriane Colburn, Helga Griffiths, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Christian Mings, Jürgen Nefzger, Vadim Fishkin, Massimo Pianese