Artists against apocalypse

Artists displaying their work in the ground-breaking Anthropocene exhibition at Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House in Wisbech are set to tell the story of their creative response to environmental catastrophe.

Members of the Precious Earth Art Collective will explain the background to the works that are on show at the museum dedicated to the town’s most famous daughter at 7 South Brink, which reflect their reaction to the environmental crises that the earth is facing and their attempt to raise awareness of the disaster they believe is  brewing.

The title of the exhibition, ‘Anthropocene:  of our own making’,  is taken from the name given to the current geological period, meaning the age of mankind, and points up the striking impact which the human race is having on ecosystems and natural resources across the planet.

Members of the Collective believe that unless humanity addresses the current environmental issues it will face apocalyptic destruction, which would be the sixth mass extinction threatening the loss of at least 75 per cent of species to strike the world.

In a bid to educate and inspire through their work, four artists – the Collective’s founder and sculptor, Mandy Caldon, together with Mike Paul, Volker Patent and Ant Sauchella – will discuss their own personal contributions to the show and their interpretations of the eco crisis when they appear at the Birthplace House at 2.30pm on Saturday, June 15.

Their exhibition at the first home of the celebrated social reformer and co-founder of the National Trust – which runs until Monday, June 24 –  features ceramics, mixed media, digital artwork and textiles, and these combine to create an inspiring and thought-provoking event.

Curator Mandy Caldon said:  “In these times of global warming, mass extinctions and extreme weather changes, to name but a few, there is more need than ever to create artwork that reaches out to inspire change.”

The event, which runs from 2.30pm to 4pm, will include cheese and wine, and audience members will be asked to make a donation.