Echoes of the Abyss I.: Toxic Legacies Of Oceanic Ecologies
This residency by Drugo more and OAZA will see artist Robertina Šebjanič address the environmental impact of discarded weapons on oceans' seabeds. By focusing on Rijeka, within the Kvarner region in the Northern Adriatic Sea, the collaboration with local craftspeople, scientists, and civil society will result in showcasing research outcomes at a global scale.
About
summer 2024 | Rijeka, Croatia | Drugo more & OAZA
A project by Robertina Šebjanič
With this project the artist plans to delve into addressing the issue of discarded weapons on oceans’ seabeds and their toxic impact on marine life. In collaboration with local artisans, scientists, and civil society, the aim is to showcase research and its outcomes on both a local and global scale.
ECHOES OF THE ABYSS I. is an ongoing project since Robertina Šebjanič was the artist’s residency aboard TARA in 2023. In 2024,her focus will be on Rijeka, within the Kvarner region in the Northern Adriatic Sea.
Through this project, the artist intends to take a closer look ‘into the past’ – examining leftover munitions forgotten on the sea floor. The investigation will explore how chemical particles from decaying weapons affect water’s chemical structure and subsequently influence changes in marine life. Acts of war and human greed are changing not only the global reality but also the marine environment and life at micro to macro levels.
Exploring the (non)power of law, the project will interconnect history, chemistry, biodiversity, and more-than-human entities, advocating for better coexistence with aquatic life.
Robertina Šebjanič is an artist/researcher whose work explores the biological, (geo)political, and cultural realities of aquatic environments and the impact of humanity on other organisms. In her analysis of the Anthropocene and its theoretical framework, the artist uses the terms “aquatocene” and “aquaforming” to refer to the human impact on aquatic environments. Her work received several awards and nominations at Prix Ars Electronica, Starts Prize, Falling Walls, Re:Humanism a.o.
