Hyperobjects

The book of Timothy Morton with the title “Hyperobjects” raised issues about global warming, radiation and the climate and recommends the renegotiation of ecological ethics. I have to admit that it was difficult for me to understand certain chapters of the book. However, what actually helped my practice and hopefully my future development as an artist is his explanation about what “Hyperobjects” are: they are objects that help us understand and consider concepts, such as global warming and climate change, that are not directly related to their obvious use.

 

As an example, I quote two pieces from the chapter “A Quake in Being” in page 10 from his book:

 

“In the Ecological Thought I coined the term hyperobjects to refer to things that are massively distributed in time and space relative to humans. A hyperobject could be a black hole. A hyperobject could be the Lago Agrio oil field in Ecuador, or the Florida Everglades. A hyperobject could be the biosphere, or the Solar System. A hyperobject could be the sumtotal of all the nuclear materials on Earth; or just the plutonium, or the uranium. A hyperobject could be the very long-lasting product of direct human manufacture, such as Styrofoam or plastic bags, or the sum of all the whirring machinery of capitalism…Hyperobjects have already had a significant impact on human social and psychic space. Hyperobjects are directly responsible for what I call the end of the world, rendering both denialism and apocalyptic environmentalism obsolete. Hyperobjects have already ushered in a new human phase of hypocrisy, weakness, and lameness."