Anthropocene: The Present I showcases photographic works by Desirée Patterson whose process consists of digital documentation of industrialized landscapes in Canada and throughout the world. Patterson’s meticulous manipulation of form, shape, and orientation creates compositions that reveal the destructive human presence, ultimately articulating the disappearance and decay of nature. The focal points within each artwork portray the potentially cataclysmic effects of the modern world; urbanization, fossil fuel extraction, industrialization, consumerism, deforestation, and energy consumption. These circular configurations spiral into themselves symbolizing introspection and the infinite cycle of creation and destruction. Although the earth has witnessed geological rebirths, it has never been faced with this type of crisis. Our species alone (anthro – meaning human) is responsible for the ominous changes inflicted upon our planet, and as conscious beings we are uniquely capable of recognizing our own culpability.
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About the Artist: 
Desirée Patterson is a Canadian photographic artist based in Vancouver, BC. Her career began with photographic documentation of her extensive travels throughout more than thirty-seven countries. Her compositions often fuse together organic and synthetic imagery offering insight into the ultimate disconnection between the natural world and the humans who inhabit it. Her work has been exhibited at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, BC, The Other Art Fair via Saatchi in Los Angeles, California, Capture Photography Festival in Vancouver, BC and the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards at Somerset House in London, England. In January 2019, Patterson won the King Edward Canada Line Station Public Art competition as part of Vancouver’s Capture Photography Festival.