Naming a New Era: Artist talk and conversation by M Cem Mengüç

July 19, 2018
7:00-9:00 PM

Teleocene
The term teleocene was inspired by the contemporary debates regarding how to name the current epoch of climate change. Geologists have proposed the term anthropocene to describe the era starting from the emergence of significant human impact on the Earth’s geology. Some of their critiques argued that the term capitolocene may be a better choice since the current epoch is a result of our economic misbehavior.

With teleocene, Mengüç suggests that the current era is also an epoch of new collective romanticisms. We watch the climate change and the destruction of our ecology in an inactive and disengaged manner while mesmerized by its imagery. We pretend that the apocalypse that is dawning upon us has its own purpose and logic, and it progresses beyond our control and comprehension, hence it is a teleological matter. We replace facts with fiction, truths with lies, and life with death.
Teleocene is at best a proposal meant to start a conversation.

M Cem Mengüç is an artist, writer and a historian who holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.