Anthropocentrism, endangered species and the environmental dilemma. A studio investigation and interrogation of humanity's ecological conundrum.

The current environmental dilemma is closely connected with humanity’s history, culture, sociology, economics, and the political forces that impinge on industrialisation and capitalism in Western societies and developing countries throughout the world. The studio and written research focuses on two central themes within this dilemma that are inextricability linked: the precarious position of nonhuman species in the current climate and the ties between environmental degradation and free market capitalism. The exegesis considers how artists have explored and exposed environmental degradation occurring in their local environments in historical art movements, and globally in contemporary arts practice. It investigates contemporary theoretical rhetoric of an anaesthetized society in relation to the effects of environmental scientific data, examining how data on a rapidly degrading environment affects sociology, politics and economics. The research undertaken looks at the ways in which contemporary art practice can infiltrate and re-release environmental data/statistics back into the public sphere, sensitising a desensitised society. Furthermore, the exegesis investigates the ethical quandary of endangered species and the methods of their recording. As an extension of and inspiration for my studio work, the exegesis examines the philosophies of modern capitalistic society in relation to the natural environment and endangered species; it is an investigation and interrogation of the multifaceted ecological conundrum.