Brief genealogy of the Anthropocene and the specific daydreams of Un-Earthwork

Abstract

Divided into two moments of theoretical-practical artistic research, the article begins with a brief genealogy of the Anthropocene, mapping authors who have contributed to similar theories throughout history, pioneering ideas that led to the idea of the human agent as a geological transformation force. The text also summarises the debate on Humanities, highlighting the discussions around the word anthropos and alternative figurations proposed by some critics. In the second part, the text takes the liberty of leaping towards poetic writing, moving between a personal account and fiction, based on the creative process of the work Un-Earthwork. On revisiting landscapes and socio-environmental contexts of a field trip to Santana do Cariri, the narrative embodies theoretical-practical research based on this experience that sparked reflections and references, including memorable works by artists such as Ana Mendieta, Nancy Holt, Celeida Tostes and Robert Smithson.