Surprise me
The artist Naoya Inose will discuss his work and exhibition The Post-Anthropocene with Dr Lena Fritsch, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Ashmolean Museum (University of Oxford).
The new geological era the Anthropocene, which means “the age of humanity”, defines the epoch we live in, and it is a time of significant human impact on Earth’s geology, ecosystem and climate. What kind of influence will humanity bring to this new geological age? Is the age of humanity in fact the history of time itself?
The main work in this exhibition, Ave Maria, depicts a Ferris wheel quietly enshrined in a huge cave. This Ferris wheel left by humans is a metaphor of humanity itself and it slowly rotates, climbing up and plunging down from top to bottom. Indeed, the Ferris wheel embodies the time constraints by which humanity is bound; it just constantly repeats its circular movement.
If life and death are the motif of the Ferris wheel, the Ferris wheel in the work Ave Maria has stopped, and time restrictions no longer exist. It has become an onlooker that quietly stares out of the cave. It is as if it is expecting slowly to become part of nature without being exposed to the sunshine.
IMAGE CREDITS: Himawari, 2019, Oil, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 65 cm, © Naoya Inose
Artists named in this listing
- Naoya Inose
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Tube: Angel Station (3 min walk)
Train: London King's Cross (17 min walk)
