Designboom_ We Are the Asteroid is a public installation by Thomas Medicus, featuring a three-dimensional asteroid encased in a cuboid scaffolding structure. This artwork draws an analogy between human activities on Earth and the asteroid impact that led to the fifth mass extinction 66 million years ago. This event resulted in the disappearance of the dinosaurs and many other species.

The public installation highlights the ongoing human-induced extinction of animal species, a process that has accelerated dramatically in recent times, suggesting the imminent threat of a sixth mass extinction. The decline of wild animals caused by humans contrasts with an unimaginable number of industrially farmed animals, pointing to the expansion of agricultural land as a primary driver of the global biodiversity crisis.

Grazing land and the cultivation of animal feed account for the majority of these areas. As meat and milk production is very inefficient compared to plant-based food production, an end to animal livestock farming would free up to three quarters of all agricultural land as potential habitats for wildlife.

We Are the Asteroid critiques the unsustainable nature of industrial livestock farming promoting the idea of reclaiming agricultural land for wildlife habitats, and denounces this double lack of solidarity between humans and non-human animals. Designer Thomas Medicus encourages reflection on the future viability of current agricultural practices and advocates for a shift towards more sustainable and ecologically friendly food production systems.