Placing the Golden Spike: Landscapes of the Anthropocene is an exhibition at the Institute of Visual Arts, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, co-curated by INOVA Director Sara Krajewski and Dehlia Hannah, Research Curator, Synthesis Center, Arizona State University. This exhibition catalogue was produced onsite during Publication Studio's week-long residency at INOVA in April 2015.

For each geological epoch the International Union of Geological Sciences identifies an exemplary site and marks it by driving a golden spike into the rock layers. INOVA's exhibition brings together nine contemporary artists to explore distinct locations where we might consider driving the 'golden spike' that would mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, including the surreal landscapes of oil fields (Marina Zurkow), petro-chemical production (Steve Rowell), Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal site (Eve Andrée Laramée), and coastlines (Roderick Coover and Scott Rettberg). Other sites reflect more dispersed entities like the polluted atmosphere (Amy Balkin), rising sea levels (Eric Corriel), plastic refuse (Yevgeniya Kaganovich) and even digital space (Xavier Cha). Natalie Jeremijenko's urban agriculture project takes the exhibition out of the gallery and into the city, where participants are invited to explore the impacts of climate change on urban patterns of plant and animal life. The book includes critical essays by Dehlia Hannah, Heather Davis, Heather Swanson and Arijit Sen.