Introduction
Objects of the Misanthropocene: Unearthing Futures
Octagon Gallery, Wilkins Building
University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT
26 September 0002022 CE – 10 February 0002023 CE
Free entry, Open daily 09:00–19:00
Closed Christmas - New Year
Objects of the Misanthropocene: Unearthing Futures is a speculative exhibition inspired by fictional accounts of the Anthropocene that aims to generate a sense of wonder in caring for our planet now.
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It is the latest iteration of the ‘Objects of the Misanthropocene’ project, which was initiated in 2019 and continues to evolve through a series a series of conversations and co-produced events hosted by the Illegal Museum of Beyond.
The exhibits on display in the Octagon Gallery are predominantly from the Illegal Museum of Beyond, fabricated by project participants from UCL (Institute of Archaeology, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL Museums and Collections), Goldsmiths University Department of Design, independent artist Fran Crowe (the Museum of Beyond), the Architectural Association, and the Centre for Critical Heritage Studies at the University of Gothenburg.
Objects of the Misanthropocene: Unearthing futures, curated by Dean Sully & Jo Volley in collaboration with UCL Museums and Cultural Programmes, would like to thank all project participants, contributors, artists, makers and curators of UCL Museums for their creative input.
​Find out more about the origins, inspiration, and contributors behind the making of this exhibition below.​​
Navigate through our display walls
to find out more about
the MisAnthrpocene.
Wall A
A (Mis)Anthropocene beyond Humans
Click the image to read curatorial interpretations
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Wall B
Surviving in the Alternative Ruins
Click the image to read curatorial interpretations
Wall C
Sunken Future, Forsaken Past
Click the image to read curatorial interpretations
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Wall D
Misunderstanding the (Im)Material Heritage
Click the image to read curatorial interpretations
Wall E
At the Digital Moment
Click the image to read curatorial interpretations
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Project background
Recent global environmental changes suggest we have entered a new human-dominated geological epoch. Having left the Holocene, we have now entered the Anthropocene.
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The Anthropocene describes the most recent period in Earth’s history in which human activity has generated irreversible planetary transformations at multiple levels (climate change, biodiversity, composition of the atmosphere, oceans and living organisms).
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Currently, researchers across UCL are working together to respond to this geological phenomenon. Through the virtual school ‘UCL Anthropocene’, projects from across the social sciences, arts, humanities and natural sciences have been assembled to explore what the Anthropocene means for our collective futures.
Among these projects is ‘Objects of the Misanthropocene’, conceived as a transdisciplinary experiment in speculative practice by Dean Sully during his time as Scientist in Residence at the Slade School of Fine Art between 2019 and 2021. The ‘Misanthropocene’ is characterised by the rapid and irreversible alterations to the climate and global depletion of resources caused by humans. The concept signals a cautionary tale about the catastrophic implications for all life on Earth of our present inaction.