ART-THROPOCENE
In the center of the rectangular gallery, an ivory-keyed, self-playing piano churns out an eerie tune. It’s based on a data-driven algorithm predicting the extinction of African elephants. Elsewhere, sprouts peek out of earthenware pots, grown from seeds recovered from the stomachs of birds that died flying into Chicago skyscrapers. A photo on the wall shows the colorful, malignant fingers of an oil spill reaching through the Gulf of Mexico.
The exhibit is a first of its kind for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). “Unsettled Nature: Artists Reflect on the Age of Humans” features 16 works by seven different artists. All share a single purpose: Invite visitors to reflect on the many ways humans have transformed the planet.
“These are images that are supposed to unsettle you and make you think,” says Scott Wing, a paleobotanist at NMNH who co-curated the exhibit alongside Joanna Marsh from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “It’s easier to change people’s minds by stimulating them to think than it is by telling them what to do.”
While “Unsettled Nature” illustrates environmental devastation wrought by human hands, it also offers glimmers of hope. One photo shows an urban street corner in Brooklyn reclaimed by plants, highlighting nature’s tenacity. Lacy symmetry in one X-ray image of genetically engineered, blight-resistant potato sprouts shows that human intervention in nature can be beneficial. “There’s an urgent need for people to think and decide for themselves how they want the future to look,” says Wing.