Future Fossils
Imagine what footprint man is leaving on the earth today; what will our future fossils tell our descendants?
Apparently we are now living in the Anthropocene, the current geological age in which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. The brilliantly eccentric Booth Museum in Brighton needed an update to its fossil collection, one which would make it meaningful and accessible to the next generation of visitors. A takeover was staged of two of its beautiful Victorian display cases and the focus was put on “Future Fossils”. These were some casts of imagined fossils; what future generations might discover of us and the things we discard in this era of the Anthropocene; cans, plastic cups and toothbrushes to name but a few. A replica was cast of a section of the cliffs at Newhaven and a layer of plastic waste was embedded to show the footprint of modern man on the environment. Not to be updated however were the displays’ quirky 1980’s captions whose style was lovingly imitated.
Can, plastic cup and pill packet
Fossilised bird with ingested plastic waste
The Anthropocene layer: toothbrush, fork and pull-ring
Calicem promptu plasticus
Casting of the cliff face at Newhaven
The cliffs at Newhaven
Chalk and flint strata
Casting of a section of the cliff face
Infographic of cliff casting
Plastiglomerate - the rock of the Anthropocene
Amongst the varied rocks in the Booth’s geological displays we added a strange new beast; Plastiglomerate. This weird substance is formed from the action of the sea and the sun on waste and organic debris. The material was first discovered on the once beautiful Kamilo beach in Hawaii, which is unfortunate enough to be positioned in a place where the tides meet and sweep floating rubbish from the huge oceans up onto shore. We emulated the process using waste from the local Brighton beach and displayed our ‘rocks’ next to the chalk, flint and other minerals in the collection.
Infographic - Plastiglomerate
Plastiglomerate wrapped around a seabird feather
Plastiglomerate - rope and netting
The Booth Museum
An existing exhibition in the Fossil Room
At an ONCA art gallery event in the Fossils Room
ONCA Art Gallery