‘I send forth, I promise’ is an on-going project that is exploring the future-fiction of post-Earth inhabitation by coining the term and examining The Promittocene (a post-anthropocentric epoch). Whilst currently traversing the Anthropocene (the current epoch), the human species is set on a path of self-destruction; having existed for decades in an ideological capitalist society, planetary resources are being depleted, environmental disasters are becoming more common and the homeostatic condition of the planet is out of balance.


This work not only questions whether a colony on Mars will mark the beginning of The Promittocene epoch, the era in which the human species is no longer a single planet organism, but also questions the role that photography plays in recording scientific and technological developments as fact.


The Latin etymology of ‘Promitto’ is from where this project draws its title, but also shares linguistic similarities with Prometheus; the Titan of Greek Mythology that stole fire from the Gods and gave it to the human race. This spark that started the technological advancements of the human species will have to be struck again once a new colony is established on a second planet. There will always have to be the first flame, both literally and metaphorically.


Through photography, video, installation and sculpture I create spaces in which visitors can unravel clues and suggestions, research and scientific data, and question suggested future-fictions that are shared through news headlines and fan the flames of hoax and science-fiction myth.

A visual research project by thomas-wynne.com