"Exploring Disconnection: Photographer Reveals How Humans Stray from Naturism"
In the era of human dominance over the Earth, British photographer Zed Nelson's project, "The Anthropocene Illusion," offers a stark reflection on our relationship with nature. This six-year, globally spanning exploration questions the increasingly distorted bond between humans and the natural world, particularly in the Anthropocene era—a geological epoch characterised by humanity's significant impact on the Earth[2][4].
The project reveals a stage-managed, artificial experience of nature that masks the ongoing destruction of the natural world[3][4]. Nelson captures surreal environments, where people have detached themselves from authentic natural experiences, replacing them with fabricated ones that obscure the true environmental crises we face[2][4].
The collection, which won Photographer of the Year at the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards, includes images that evoke a feeling of sadness. There are taxidermied museum dioramas of endangered species, captive elephants paraded for Instagram influencers, and a caged polar bear beside a mural of an Arctic landscape[1]. Nelson likens these manufactured natural experiences to fast food[1].
One of the most striking images in the collection is a Maasaitribesman posing beside a picnic blanket for an "Out of Africa" champagne brunch in Kenya, and a child perched on a fiberglass rock at a beach in the world's largest indoor rainforest[1]. These images underscore the psychological disconnect between humans and nature, with examples of ironic and dystopian images[1].
Nelson believes that the kind of sweeping change required to protect the environment needs to come from major corporations and political leaders[1]. However, he's not necessarily against nature-based tourism, biophilic architecture, or enjoying safaris and aquariums[1]. Instead, he emphasises that photography is a way to make the invisible visible again, to confront the real state of the planet and our ecological responsibilities[1].
Global wildlife populations have dropped by an average of 73% in the last 50 years[1]. Arctic ice sheets are on course for catastrophic "runaway melting"[1]. Nelson's project serves as a critical reflection on the alienation of humans from nature and the consequences of this severance in an age dominated by environmental change[4][5]. It challenges the audience to see beyond comforting facades to the profound ecological transformations occurring beneath[4][5].
Interestingly, Nelson's work is reminiscent of Eugene Delacroix's painting, "A young Tiger Playing With Its Mother," where the artist used a captive tiger at a zoo and his pet cat as models[1]. The painting Zed Nelson saw during the interview is a metaphor for the idealized, human-centric relationship with nature[1].
In a partnership with Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative, CNN is driving awareness and education around key sustainability issues and inspiring positive action[1]. This collaboration underscores the urgency to address the environmental crises highlighted by Nelson's project, and to work towards restoring and preserving our planet's natural beauty.
- The style of Zed Nelson's "The Anthropocene Illusion" project, awarded Photographer of the Year at the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards, comprises a striking collection of images that confront the environmental crises we face, often featuring surreal environments and fabricated natural experiences that mask the destruction of the natural world.
- As environmental-science indicators reveal a 73% decline in global wildlife populations over the past 50 years and the imminent threat of catastrophic "runaway melting" of Arctic ice sheets, the project's depicted scenes of humans disconnected from nature, such as a Maasaitribesman posing beside a picnic blanket for an "Out of Africa" champagne brunch in Kenya, serve as a sobering reminder of our strained relationship with the environment.
- The care and maintenance of one's home and garden can be an expression of lifestyle choices, yet Nelson contends that the visually appealing aspects of nature-based tourism, biophilic architecture, and safaris should not overshadow the urgent need for major corporations and political leaders to adopt sustainable practices, as revealed through his photographic work that makes the invisible consequences of climate-change visible once again.
