DECOLONISING OCEAN MATTER

Oceans occupy a central place in the centuries‐long unfolding of European colonialism. They form the interstice between the base of the coloniser and the “overseas” territories of the colonised. As an unsettling body, a realm that cannot be settled in, oceans at once separate and connect the Earth’s different continents. This simultaneity of separation and connection has become indicative of the contradictions shaping the pursuit of interests in oceanic and “overseas” territories up to the present day: from the competitive, speculation‐driven race to stake claims to ocean resources to the ostensibly peaceful agendas driving the scientific exploration of oceans’ final, unknown frontiers. This article examines the essential role of cultural storytelling in facilitating these processes by looking at how a growing wave of scientist settlements is encroaching on remaining unconquered spheres in the most remote parts of the oceans such as the polar regions. It highlights how an incessant spectacularisation of their futuristic architectures domesticises these endeavours to master a hostile environment as a matter of making oneself at home and settling in. In order to challenge such possessive, human‐centric investments in oceanic territories, the article contrasts these developments with two examples of artistic research, A World of Matter (2014) and Frontier Climates (2017), which aim to offer a decolonial perspective through other forms of representation and knowledge production. Discussing the conceptual approach of these projects, it draws attention to more‐than‐human ecologies to reframe our understanding of marine life away from contested rights of access and towards global commons.

Ocean and Society
Open Access Journal

Special issue “Seeing Oceans: How Artistic Research Contributes to New Ways of Looking at Ocean Life”, Vol 2 (2025),
edited by Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer