Chapter 4 E-concept: Apocalypscene – Photos, Assemblage and Painting
Photo and Painting
Apocalypscene is an e-concept, designed to draw like-minded photographers and painters together to contribute ecologically significant photos and paintings that embody an apocalyptic undertone, to give them agency to voice their concerns that the epoch of Anthropocene is really here. It is a subcategory of the E-Cart which comprises all the ecologically relevant arts including visual, literary and performative, catastrophic or otherwise.
Etymologically, the word "apocalypse" derives from Greek: apo = un-; kaluptein = to cover. According to Oxford Reference, "apocalypse" means "The complete final destruction of the world, especially as described in the biblical book of Revelation." The word "scene" derives from Greek: skēnē = stage. It has multiple meanings and connotations, depending on the context. Oxford Dictionary of Media and Communication defines it as "The physical location and setting of an incident in real life or fiction." Whereas The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Theatre and Performance defines it as "a unit of segmentation in drama, normally involving a change in the configuration of characters on stage." Apocalypscene in the context of the Anthropocene, therefore, would best be defined as "The complete and final destruction of the configuration of the world in real life." The living trees would be the ideal ecodiegetic media (see Chapter 10) to represent the health of the Earth.
For trees, bush fires are not their only enemies, there are deforesters – human, fungi or arthropods, amongst others. On the high peaks and plains of the Australian Alps, the sudden death of the snow gums is a cause for concern. Over time, they have developed the ability to endure the snow, ice and wind, and they are icons of the beloved Australian snow country. However, within the last few years, they have started to fall apart, literally. And possibly will become extinct as a species. Although the culprit is the longicorn beetle (a wood borer), scientists believe that climate change may also be responsible. Wood borers do not normally attack high-altitude forests, but this might have changed with the recent drought and unusually warm weather.
Snow gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora – "few flowers" – a misnomer) normally look colourful as shown in the above photo taken five years ago near Charlotte Pass. Ecologically, they play an important role in accumulating snow in "snowpack" processes to limit evaporation and runoff. Their decimation will obviously impact the hydrology and water resources of southeast Australia.
I conclude this page with an , anthropomorphised as “a knight on flying insect's back” – which served as a model for the eponymous painting (bottom).
Apocalypscene, acrylic on canvas (122 x 92 cm) depicting an apocalyptic scene.