Welcome to the Anthropocene

Agriculture, trade, transportation and industry: As long as humans have existed we have been utilising and altering our environment. Industrialisation, in particular, has contributed to the unmistakable and often irreversible fingerprint that we are making upon the Earth. Today, the human imprint is so deep and pervasive that scientists, policymakers, and society are considering whether human-caused changes are affecting the geological record over the long term – whether we are, in fact, living in a new geological era. The richly illustrated catalogue section presents objects from the exhibition, creating a many-sided picture of the Anthropocene and underlining our responsibility for the Earth in our hands.