Group Exhibition
Människans natur (Human Nature)
Västerbottens Museum
Umeå, Sweden
22 February — 30 August 2020
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Photographers and artists explore how Norrland’s landscape is being reshaped by the intensive extraction of natural resources, and they look at the sometimes irrevocable traces left behind. The exhibition highlights human tendency primarily to view nature as a resource and source of raw materials, and shows how values, immeasurable in terms of money, are underestimated.
The landscapes depicted provide first-hand accounts of the relationships between humans and nature, and ask if we have finally entered the anthropocene: the geological epoch defined by how humans have irreversibly impacted the earth’s climate and ecosystems.
Human Nature shows how demands for social and ecological sustainability clash with the interests of global capitalism, and how colonial structures are expressed in the opinions of Norrland. It documents the antagonism between indigenous people and industry, as well as giving us a close up look at how the networks of local and global forestry and berry industries exploit cheap labour.
The exhibition raises questions about the values humans are prepared to sacrifice in the quest for material growth and highlights the complexity of the adaptation into a sustainable society.