‘Habitus’ (2013 - ongoing)
Statement: “12 factual signs showing geological eras, epochs and eons that cover millions of years all point towards a Vegas style sign. They detail histories prior to the one we are currently living in; everything that has gone before has lead us to our current situation. Whether financial or environmental the state of the world has been built on layer upon layer of knowledge, rather like sedimentary rock. And so, the centre-point of the installation is the sign that reads in gushing words: ‘Welcome to the Fabulous Anthropocene Era’. A time unlike no other where we are faced with signs that reflect back to us the care with which we choose to look after the planet…or not.”
Commissioner: Edge Hill University
“ Welcome to the Fabulous Anthropocene Era the sign reads in colourful letters. Actually it is a mock sign, a sculpture by British artist Robyn Woolston. The design is an obvious paraphrase of the world-famous 7.6 meter sign south of Las Vegas from 1959, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places fifty years later. A timely paraphrase, since the fifties mark the beginning of the Great Acceleration - particularly in light of the American lifestyle and fossil capitalism for which air-conditioned Las Vegas has become somewhat of a caricature - whereas the period between 2009 and 2011 is when the concept of the Anthropocene began to spread rapidly in the sphere of intellectual discourse and artistic practice. ”
— History of a cliché // Rhetoric and Imagery of the Anthropocene by Björn Billing
Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 8 May 2019