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[IN]EVIDENT ECOLOGIES : Embodying Operational Landscapes. Exploring how the embodiment of hidden narratives and situated knowledge can spread awareness of operational landscapes

The demand for ‘green’ resources is growing, and in response to this, industrial expansion in northern Sweden is accelerating, leaving little room for a thorough examination of long-term consequences from ecological and social perspectives. Resource extraction in Sweden is nothing new, and some areas still deal with the consequences of previously hastily induced industrialism. This research explores how embodied experiences can be utilized to convey the hidden narratives of a riverine landscape affected by extractive industries, more precisely the area around Áhkájávvre situated in the Luleå River, and how situating oneself within these embodied narratives can contribute to raising public awareness of their ecological and cultural impacts. To support this research question, theories of situated knowledge are introduced, which advocate for the subjective knowledges of the landscape’s ecology and the embodiment of the agents in it. By highlighting the perspectives of its ecology, this thesis aims to connect the urban and the hinterlands - the operational landscapes and change how we view them. The research is conducted through interviews and case studies, followed by a design-as- research methodology, a process-based project which explores various methods of artistic research representation as mediators to situate the observer in the subject and embody the knowledge of the site. It is explored through two perspectives: the area of disturbance (the operational landscape) and the disruptor (us), through the scope of social and ecological dimensions, represented by ‘the people’ and ‘the soil’. This research presents scenarios and explorations aimed at increasing connection to, and raising public awareness of, resource extraction, both historical and ongoing. These scenarios highlight the local effects of the affected area, and the interconnectedness of operational landscapes and urban environments. This research contributes to the understanding of the need for embodied experiences in developing an understanding of the hidden consequences of resource extraction on operational landscape, and to situate oneself in its context.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-227092
Date January 2024
CreatorsLandstedt, Ebba
PublisherUmeå universitet, Arkitekthögskolan vid Umeå universitet
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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