From prehistoric times our domestic waste dumps (middens), were filled with predominantly organic materials which decomposed, only liths, ceramics, basic... Read More
From prehistoric times our domestic waste dumps (middens), were filled with predominantly organic materials which decomposed, only liths, ceramics, basic metals and glass remain today. Following the invention of bakelite, plastics, heavy metals and chemicals, Earth will now be left with indelible traces in the sedimentary rock strata for millions of years into the future.
Today’s culture sees useful appliances and products being discarded prematurely. Planned obsolescence is the deliberate shortening of a product’s usage life by manufacturers to encourage consumers to buy new products, psychological obsolescence occurs because consumers want to upgrade to a newer and better product.
Mostly everything manufactured today is sourced from materials mined from the earth. In 2019 alone we mined more metals than the entire amount mined historically yearly before 1955 combined. The materials required to build new technologies for greener energy solutions such as wind farms, solar panels and electric cars will ultimately have to be mined from the earth too.
Core drilling began as a method of sampling rock for ore deposits, mining and oil exploration. It soon expanded to ice, lakes, and soil.
Core samples indicate variations of climate, atmospheric conditions, sedimentary composition and species of life during geologic history.
Core 003 is cast from glass and metals recycled from discarded televisions which have been cast, machined and polished to emulate a geological core sample representing the Anthropocene and our presence in future Earth core samples.This is made in collaboration with Jon Lewis.
