This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

Micro-Landscapes of the Anthropocene

Eco-Cosmopolitanism, Ontopower and the World of Water

‘Awareness of the momentous scale of anthropogenic changes to the natural processes of the Planet summed up by the Anthropocene and accelerated by evermore tangible evidence of climate emergency and species extinction has rendered redundant attempts to think the politics of the cosmos in purely human terms or solely in reference to the Western political tradition... The novelty of cosmopolitics as a supra-political project lies in making explicit the connection of humans to other species, but also to entities with a distinct materiality and non-human agency, from rocks and rivers to particles and physical forces.'

At what point do we determine that that the natural world is essentially a cultural and political actor? Concerning Ontopower in this regard, a pre-emptive disposition towards the unfathomable power of water would mean to renounce the anthropocentric disposition generally applied to nature and concede that it is in fact unfathomable, by virtue of which we might begin to adjust climate policy out of a fear-born reverence.

Maja and Reuben Fowkes, Posthuman Glossary (2018)

This page is referenced by:

Watery Worlds: Photo Essays EROSION By Eva Claire & Ella Howe WATERY SKINS By Amelia Loughland & Bridget Moyle DEEP WATERS By Christa Jessica Tulong & Raymond May End

By Sophie McGing & Caitlin Stibbard OCEAN Water is the origin of all things, the point where life begins. Gaia, Goddess of the Earth, birthed Pontos, God of the Sea, at the dawn of time. Pontos was not an external God, merely ruling over the seas. Pontos was the sea itself. The moon and the tides turn the planet, change the seasons, inform the weather. Water is a mother, a creator, a place for reproduction and nourishment. A watery womb, with 98% of amniotic fluid made up of water. A watery nourishment, with 78% breast milk made up of water. The worlds above and below the waters surface are reliant on the fluid for life. OCEAN Mother Ocean. Mother water. Mother currents. Origin of all sources. Where all things began. Luna. Turn the planet and change the seasons. Flow through and nourish all beings. Vast and strong, silent and brooding. A mother. A lifegiver. 70% human body. 98% amniotic fluid. 88% breastmilk. ALBATROSS The Albatross is considered one of the most faithful birds in the animal kingdom. In some breeds, they are known to mate for life. Loyal and unwavering, the Albatross spends most of its time at sea. Leaving home at merely months old, the bird will take off for the sea for ten to twelve years. Returning to reproduce. With the largest wingspan of any breed of bird, the Albatross can sail for hours without rest. Always out to sea, gliding the surface of the vast body. Sometimes the Albatross will stop, and float on the waters top. The Albatross drinks salt water, drinks in the nourishing ocean to survive. It is believed by many sailors that the Albatross is a sign of good luck and guidance on a voyage. But, cross the Albatross and down into the belly of the sea, a sailor will be swallowed. ALBATROSS The magnificent bird of the sea. A legend. A friend. A guide. The Albatross and the sea keep one another close by. Days, months, years. Side by side. Only parting to create more life. A blessing and a curse - a sailor must choose wise. Inspired by the power of the Albatross. Watching as it dips and glides. MARGIN Perched on the edge. Pushing the boundaries between nature and humanity, between beginning and end. Humans choose to live in natural disaster prone areas. Because they are; beautiful, serene, picturesque, tranquil, candid, alternative and expensive. Nature is a commodity. Used to increase status, and to bring the human subject closer to the natural world. The natural world that diminishes as we build, as we encroach. Continuing to build on land that will be uninhabitable in years to come. When the day comes that mother nature will perform an inevitable, and catastrophic force, where will the blame be shifted? MARGIN Where does the sea start and end. How so does human measure length, size, strength. How so does human predict. Herein lies the margin. Human and non living. Human and non human. Human and water. Human and other. Human nature to immerse in nature. No matter risk or harm. To inhabit spaces better left alone. ISLAND As it turns out, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not alone. In the Atlantic Ocean, in the Sargasso Sea, floats another trash island. These two are not alone either. Human waste is found in every ocean, either as a mass or a free floating pollutant. Although these islands cannot be walked on, they reach down below the waters surface where certain plastics are sucked from view. From the surface can be seen, over twenty million square kilometers of plastic soup. The chemicals from washing synthetic clothing, from teeth brushing. Oils and chemicals poured down the sink. Waste thrown onto the streets. Discarded fishnets. It has been scientifically estimated that the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch will double over the next decade. ISLAND Trash Island. A new land. Take out what you put in. Where Mother meets Man.
END. 2025, 1800 Million PEOPLE will have scant access to water. Placing OURSELVES at the top of the food chain. Needing to save OURSELVES, from OURSELVES. Where will OUR water be? Who will help US? WHO let this happen? The environment still in the periphery. Human at the centre. The Albatross speared down from the sky.