While yet at the threshold of formal geological designation, we have now effectively transitioned from the relative calm of the Holocene into the new Anthropocene epoch, due exclusively to the effects of our single species having fundamentally changed the natural systems of the entire planet.
Within this context, Ellingsen’s Anthropocene photographs are intended to speak to the physical and mystical connections between the natural world and humans.
These connections are reflected strongly within the pre-industrial cultural knowledge forged from countless generations observing the intricate relationships between land, ocean, flora, fauna and atmosphere – knowledge ensuring survival within ones surroundings. While centuries of colonialism, war and globalization have extinguished much of this ancient wisdom, re-learning and integrating it back into our modern culture offers one path though the environmental challenges now upon us. These photographs represent a warning, but also a rendering of hope, speaking to this integration – of ancient wisdom and modern civilization, of man and nature – as an antidote to humanity’s subjugation, domination and consumption of the living planet.
About David Ellingsen
David Ellingsen is a Canadian photographer and conservation artist creating images that speak to the natural world and human impact upon it. Employing a range of photographic processes across his projects, Ellingsen acts as conceptualist, archivist, and surrealist as he calls attention to the state of the environment.
Ellingsen’s photographs have been exhibited around the world and are included in museum collections in China, Canada and South Korea. They have received multiple international awards and appeared in publications including National Geographic, Monthly Photography, and PhotoLife. Ellingsen lives and makes his work in Canada’s Pacific Northwest, moving between the city of Victoria and the remote island of Cortes where he was raised. [Official Website]
