Seminar:
Remote imaginaries

The group exhibition and its accompanying interdisciplinary public program delves into the myriad imaginaries surrounding Bouvet Island; a remote, uninhabited landmass in the southern Atlantic Ocean, under Norwegian sovereignty and recognized as the most isolated island on Earth. In two thematic seminars, and as part of the exhibition’s public program, we invite researchers into the gallery to present their work in conversation with the artistic contributions, bringing in disciplines from the humanities, geography, oceanography and maritime law, as well as screenings of artistic research works.  

During this second instance, film screenings by Open-weather and Susan Schuppli, followed by a lecture by Philip Steinberg will explore the island’s relation to further remote imaginaries and the myths that gather around places beyond reach. 

There will be popcorn and wine.

Film screenings 

“Satellite Séance for Collective” (03:30) by Open-weather

“[Climate] Signals from Svalbard” (27:34) by Susan Schuppli 

Keynote lecture

“Islands, Isolates, and National Mythologies: From T-3 to Bouvet” by Philip Steinberg

Bios

(1) Open-weather is a research collective and feminist experiment in imaging and imagining the earth and its weather systems. In their work, they investigate the politics of location and interlocking oppressions that shape our capacities to observe, negotiate, and respond to the climate crisis. Open-weather is co-led by Soph Dyer and Sasha Engelmann.

(2) Susan Schuppli is an artist and researcher, whose work is situated at the intersections between environmental struggles, climate science, and affected communities with a specific focus on the cryosphere. She is Director of the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths as well as a Fellow and Board Chair of Forensic Architecture.

(3) Philip Steinberg is UArctic Chair in Political Geography at Durham University, where he directs IBRU: Durham University’s Centre for Borders Research and the Durham Arctic Research Centre for Training and Interdisciplinary Collaboration (DurhamARCTIC). His research focuses on the uses, representations, and regulations of spaces on the margins of state territory, including the world-ocean, the universe of electronic communications, and the Arctic.