The Extinction of Experience
Over 20 years ago writer and leading lepidopterist (a person who studies butterflies and moths) Robert M Pyle coined the term “extinction of experience” in reference to the increasing alienation between people and nature.
Pyle asserted that as direct contact with nature becomes less and less frequent in our daily lives, so too does our empathy and care for the natural world.
Photo by Katie Edwards
A review published by the Ecological Society of America in 2016 illustrated that "the loss of interaction with nature not only diminishes a wide range of benefits relating to health and well-being, but also discourages positive emotions, attitudes, and behavior with regard to the environment, implying a cycle of disaffection toward nature.”
The alarming implications of this development could spell disaster for us humans and so highlight the importance of reconnecting people with nature in new and creative ways.
While we understand that images of plants and flowers cannot serve as a replacement for the real thing, we hope they stand as a spotlight for nature and mitigate some of the negative effects caused by a lack of exposure to green space.
We truly believe that through our art practice, we can change how public spaces are seen and used, make space for nature, and in our own small way, help to extinguish the extinction of experience.
