Lise Autogena and Joshua Portway : Untitled (superorganism)

Anthropocene Monument was a symposium-performance organised by Bruno Latour (French philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist of science) and Bronislaw Szerszynski (sociologist) at L’Abbatoirs, France, (11-12/10 2014). This event was organised in advance of the meeting of the International Commission on Stratigraphy to examine the evidence for a new geological period, the Anthropocene. The colloquium-performance "Anthropocene Monument” gathered researchers, historians and artists around key questions: Are we in the Anthropocene? What are the possible forms of a monument to the Anthropocene? It concluded with a simulation of the decision of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), deliberating on the status of the Anthropocene and the form that a Monument should or should not take. Speakers included: Frédérique Ait Touati (literature professor, director, historian), Lise Autogena (Artist and researcher), Joshua Portway (artist), Christophe Bonneuil (science historian, writer), Jerry Brotton (historian), Pierre Chabard (architect, architectural historian and urban), Fabien Giraud (artist), Nigel Clark (Geographer , philosopher, writer), Claire Colebrook (cultural theorist), Emilie Hache (philosopher), Bruno Latour (science historian), Armin Linke (artist), Adam Lowe (artist), John and Ann-Sofi Palmesino Rönnskog (architects and planners), Tomás Saraceno (artist), Yesenia Thibault-Picazo (artist), Jan Zalasiewicz (sociologiste and president of the ICS), Alain Podaire (researcher), Catherine Jeandel (researcher), Bronislaw Szerszynski (sociologist).