First Friday: The Queer Anthropocene in Art by Serenity Joo

The Anthropocene connotes our current geological era in which human activity has made a distinct impact on the earth’s ecology, including climate change. Yet, there are numerous cultural assumptions to be unpacked when discussing ideas of species extinction and survival, including heteronormative notions of linear, reproductive time and the idea of “human” itself. Joo presents an array of artists who explore human’s relationship to objects, often critically imagining humans as objects. By doing so, artists such as Laura Aguilar, Kara Walker, Mary Mattingly and others assert alternative temporalities and queer futurities that refute hierarchies of dominance.