Making new history: Contemporary art and the temporal orientations of climate change in Oceania | Intellect Skip to content
1981
New Scholarship in New Zealand and Pacific Studies Part 2
  • ISSN: 2050-4039
  • E-ISSN: 2050-4047

Abstract

This article explores artistic production in the region of Oceania that resists the ahistorical and future-oriented temporality of climate change discourse, as it perpetuates colonial structures of power by denying Indigenous futures and ignoring the violent histories that have led to the current climate breakdown. In the video poem (2018), prominent climate justice activist Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner strategically combines spoken word poetry with visual montage in order to situate Cold War nuclear tests by the US military within the same temporal plane as rising sea levels currently threatening the Marshall Islands. Katerina Teaiwa’s exhibition (2017) similarly mobilizes archival imagery in order to visualize the genealogical relationship between Banabans and the settler landscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Sean Connelly’s architectural and design practice in , an ongoing digital design project that engages with the threats of sea level rise and coastal erosion in Hawaiʻi, problematizes linear formations of time and favours a future structured around cyclical, ecological time instead. Interacting with vastly different sites, strategies and temporalities, these three multidisciplinary projects provide critical alternatives to the ahistorical framing of colonial climate change in Oceania and thus play a crucial role in constructing a more just future.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/nzps_00072_1
2021-12-01
2024-04-26
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. An Ecomodernist Manifesto ( 2015), http://www.ecomodernism.org/. Accessed 20 November 2020.
  2. Arbon, Mitiana. ( 2019;), ‘ Project Banaba. ’, review , The Contemporary Pacific, 31:1, pp. 23841.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Ballard, Chris. ( 2014;), ‘ Oceanic historicities. ’, The Contemporary Pacific, 26:1, pp. 96124.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Bhavnani, Kum-Kum,, Foran, John,, Kurian, Priya A., and Munshi, Debashish. ( 2019), Climate Futures: Re-Imagining Global Climate Justice, London:: Zed Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Brantlinger, Patrick. ( 2003), Dark Vanishings: Discourse on the Extinction of Primitive Races, 1800–1930, Ithaca, NY:: Cornell University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Broad, William J.. ( 2010;), ‘ The bomb chroniclers. ’, New York Times, 13 September, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/science/14atom.html. Accessed 10 May 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Bryant, Martin,, Allan, Penny, and Smith, Huhana. ( 2017;), ‘ Climate change adaptations for coastal farms: Bridging science and mātauranga Māori with art and design. ’, The Plan Journal, 2:2, pp. 497518.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Chakrabarty, Dipesh. ( 2009;), ‘ The climate of history: Four theses. ’, Critical Inquiry, 35:2, pp. 197222.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Connelly, Sean. ( 2009a;), ‘ Density x dispersal: Typological transformations for a future ahupuaʻa. ’, D.Arch. thesis, Honolulu, HI:: University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa;.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Connelly, Sean. ( 2009b), Hawaiʻi Futures, http://www.hawaii-futures.com. Accessed 25 June 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Connelly, Sean. ( 2014;), ‘ Urbanism as island living. ’, in Aiko Yamashiro, and Noelani Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua. (eds), The Value of Hawaiʻi 2: Ancestral Roots, Oceanic Visions, Honolulu, HI:: University of Hawaiʻi Press;, pp. 8899.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Connelly, Sean. ( 2020a;), ‘ Ahupuaʻa for peace. ’, in Jaimey Hamilton Faris. (ed.), Inundation: Art and Climate Change in the Pacific, pp. 810, https://www.inundation.org/catalog.html. Accessed 17 April 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Connelly, Sean. ( 2020b;), ‘ Our city as ahupuaʻa: For justice-advancing futures. ’, in Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua,, Craig Howes,, Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio, and Aiko Yamashiro. (eds), The Value of Hawaiʻi 3: Hulihia, the Turning, Honolulu, HI:: University of Hawaiʻi Press;, pp. 23136.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Crook, Tony, and Lind, Craig. ( 2013;), ‘ EU-Pacific climate change policy and engagement: A social science and humanities review. ’, European Consortium for Pacific Studies, Work Package 3, ECOPAS Deliverable D3.311, 19 November, https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/10122. Accessed 13 August 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Crutzen, Paul J.. ( 2002;), ‘ Geology of mankind. ’, Nature, 415, p. 23.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Cushing, Lara,, Blaustein-Rejto, Dan,, Wander, Madeline,, Pastor, Manuel,, Sadd, James,, Zhu, Allen, and Morello-Frosch, Rachel. ( 2018;), ‘ Carbon trading, co-pollutants, and environmental equity: Evidence from California’s cap-and-trade program (2011–2015). ’, PloS Medicine, 15:7, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002604. Accessed 13 August 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Davidson, Helen. ( 2014;), ‘ Pacific Islanders blockade Newcastle coal port to protest rising sea levels. ’, The Guardian, 17 October, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/17/pacific-islanders-blockade-newcastle-coal-port-to-protest-rising-sea-levels. Accessed 13 August 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. DeLoughrey, Elizabeth. ( 2012;), ‘ The myth of isolates: Ecosystem ecologies in the nuclear Pacific. ’, Cultural Geographies, 20:2, pp. 16784.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. DeLoughrey, Elizabeth. ( 2018;), ‘ The sea is rising: Visualising climate change in the Pacific islands. ’, Pacific Dynamics: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 2:2, pp. 18597.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. DeLoughrey, Elizabeth. ( 2019), Allegories of the Anthropocene, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Dening, Greg. ( 1996a;), ‘ A poetic for histories. ’, in Greg Dening. (ed.), Performances, Chicago:: University of Chicago Press;, pp. 3563.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Dening, Greg. ( 1996b;), ‘ Ethnography on my mind. ’, in Greg Dening. (ed.), Performances, Chicago:: University of Chicago Press;, pp. 530.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Farbotko, Carol. ( 2010a;), ‘ Wishful sinking: Disappearing islands, climate refugees and cosmopolitan experimentation. ’, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 51:1, pp. 4760.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Farbotko, Carol. ( 2010b;), ‘ “The global warming clock is ticking so see these places while you can”: Voyeuristic tourism and model environmental citizens on Tuvalu’s disappearing islands. ’, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 31:2, pp. 22438.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, Noelani, and Baker, Mary T.. ( 2012;), ‘ The great shift: Moving beyond a fossil fuel-based economy. ’, Hūlili Journal: Multidisciplinary Research on Hawaiian Well-Being, 8, pp. 13366.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Grove, Richard. ( 1995), Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Island Edens and the Origins of Environmentalism, 1600–1860, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Hanlon, David. ( 2003;), ‘ Beyond “the English method of tattooing”: Decentering the practice of history in Oceania. ’, The Contemporary Pacific, 15:1, pp. 1940.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Haraway, Donna. ( 2016;), ‘ Tentacular thinking: Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Chthulucene. ’, e-flux, 75, https://www.e-flux.com/journal/75/67125/tentacular-thinking-anthropocene-capitalocene-chthulucene/. Accessed 20 November 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Hauʻofa, Epeli. ( 2008;), ‘ Pasts to remember. ’, in We Are the Ocean: Selected Works, Honolulu, HI:: University of Hawaiʻi Press;, pp. 6079.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission ( 2017), Hawaiʻi Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report, prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc. and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, under the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Contract No 64064 , https://climateadaptation.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/SLR-Report_Dec2017.pdf. Accessed 22 August 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Henzell, Ted. ( 2007), Australian Agriculture: Its History and Challenges, Collingwood:: CSIRO Publishing;.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Ingham, April. ( 2019;), ‘ Unraveling ghost nets, making Torres Strait connections. ’, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership, 6 March, https://pacificpeoplespartnership.org/unravelling-ghost-nets-making-torres-strait-connections/. Accessed 20 December 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Jolly, Margaret. ( 2018;), ‘ Horizons and rifts in conversations about climate change in Oceania. ’, in Warwick Anderson,, Miranda Johnson, and Barbara Brookes. (eds), Pacific Futures: Past and Present, Honolulu, HI:: University of Hawaiʻi Press;, pp. 1748.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Kameʻeleihiwa, Lilikala. ( 1992), Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea Lā E Pono Ai?, Honolulu, HI:: Bishop Museum Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Keener, Victoria,, Helweg, David,, Asam, Susan,, Balwani, Seema,, Burkett, Maxine,, Fletcher, Charles,, Giambelluca, Thomas,, Grecni, Zena,, Nobrega-Olivera, Malia,, Polovina, Jeffrey, and Tribble, Gordon. ( 2018;), ‘ Hawai‘i and U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands. ’, in D. R. Reidmiller,, C. W. Avery,, D. R. Easterling,, K. E. Kunkel,, K. L. M. Lewis,, T. K. Maycock, and B. C. Stewart. (eds), Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II, Washington, DC:: US Global Change Research Program;, pp. 1242308.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Klein, Naomi. ( 2007), Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, New York:: Picador;.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Klein, Naomi. ( 2014), This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, New York:: Simon & Schuster;.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Lin, Dan, and Jetñil-Kijiner, Kathy. ( 2018;), ‘ Anointed. ’, video poem , https://www.kathyjetnilkijiner.com/videos-featuring-kathy/. Accessed 1 October 2019.
  39. Luscia, Talei. ( 2018;), ‘ From the calyx of Oceania: Creativity and environmental movements. ’, MA dissertation, Canberra:: Australian National University;.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Maldonado-Torres, Nelson. ( 2007;), ‘ On the coloniality of being: Contributions to the development of a concept. ’, Cultural Studies, 21:2&3, pp. 24070.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Mimura, Nobuo,, Nurse, Leonard,, McLean, Roger,, Agard, John,, Briguglio, Lino,, Lefale, Penehuro,, Payet, Rolph, and Sem, Graham. ( 2007;), ‘ Small islands. ’, in M. L. Parry,, O. F. Canziani,, J. P. Palutikof,, P. J. van der Linden, and C. E. Hanson. (eds), Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;, pp. 687716.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Moore, Jason W.. ( 2017;), ‘ The Capitalocene, part I: On the nature and origins of our ecological crisis. ’, Journal of Peasant Studies, 44:3, pp. 594630.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Muller, Phillip H.. ( 2009;), ‘ Republic of the Marshall Islands: Views regarding the possible security implications of climate change. ’, UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/63/281 , https://www.un.org/esa/dsd/resources/res_pdfs/ga-64/cc-inputs/Marshall_Islands_CCIS.pdf. Accessed 10 May 2020.
  44. Rifkin, Mark. ( 2017), Beyond Settler Time: Temporal Sovereignty and Indigenous Self-Determination, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Rust, Susanne. ( 2019;), ‘ How the U.S. betrayed Marshall Islands, kindling the next nuclear disaster. ’, Los Angeles Times, 10 November, https://www.latimes.com/projects/marshall-islands-nuclear-testing-sea-level-rise/. Accessed 10 May 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Salesa, Damon. ( 2013;), ‘ The Pacific in Indigenous time. ’, in David Armitage, and Alison Bashford. (eds), Pacific Histories: Ocean, Land, People, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;, pp. 3152.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Saranillio, Dean Itsuji. ( 2018), Unsustainable Empire: Alternative Histories of Hawaiʻi Statehood, Durham, NC:: Duke University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Schaefers, Allison. ( 2019;), ‘ Group sues to halt Ala Wai project. ’, Honolulu Star Advertiser, 19 September, https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/09/19/hawaii-news/group-sues-to-halt-ala-wai-project/. Accessed 1 September 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Shoemaker, Nancy. ( 2015;), ‘ A typology of colonialism. ’, Perspectives on History, 53:7, https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/october-2015/a-typology-of-colonialism. Accessed 27 August 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Steiner, Candice Elanna. ( 2015;), ‘ A sea of warriors: Performing an identity of resilience and empowerment in the face of climate change in the Pacific. ’, The Contemporary Pacific, 27:1, pp. 14780.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Teaiwa, Teresia. ( 1994;), ‘ Bikinis and other s/pacific n/oceans. ’, The Contemporary Pacific, 6:1, pp. 87109.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Teaiwa, Katerina. ( 2005;), ‘ Our sea of phosphate: The diaspora of ocean island. ’, in Graham Harvey, and Charles D. Thompson Jr.. (eds), Indigenous Diasporas and Dislocations, Aldershot and Burlington:: Ashgate;, pp. 16991.
    [Google Scholar]
  53. Teaiwa, Katerina. ( 2014), Consuming Ocean Island, Bloomington, IN:: Indiana University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Teaiwa, Katerina. ( 2018;), ‘ Our rising sea of islands: Pan-pacific regionalism in the age of climate change. ’, Pacific Studies, 41:1&2, pp. 2654.
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Teaiwa, Katerina. ( 2019;), ‘ No distant future: Climate change as an existential threat. ’, Australian Foreign Affairs, 6, pp. 5170.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Teaiwa, Katerina. ( 2020;), ‘ On decoloniality: A view from Oceania. ’, Postcolonial Studies, 23:4, pp. 60103.
    [Google Scholar]
  57. Tokar, Brian. ( 2014), Toward Climate Justice: Perspectives on the Climate Crisis and Social Change, Porsgrunn:: New Compass;.
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. ( 1995), Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History, Boston, MA:: Beacon Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  59. Veracini, Lorenzo. ( 2010), Settler Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Wander, Maggie. ( 2021;), ‘ Navigating the climate crisis: Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner’s creative constellations. ’, Spectator, 41:1, pp. 2838.
    [Google Scholar]
  61. Whyte, Kyle P.. ( 2017;), ‘ Indigenous climate change studies: Indigenizing futures decolonizing the Anthropocene. ’, English Language Notes, 55:1&2, pp. 15362.
    [Google Scholar]
  62. Whyte, Kyle P.. ( 2018;), ‘ Indigenous science (fiction) for the Anthropocene: Ancestral dystopias and fantasies about climate change crises. ’, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 1:1&2, pp. 22442.
    [Google Scholar]
  63. Whyte, Kyle P.. ( 2021;), ‘ Against crisis epistemology. ’, in Brendan Hokowhitu,, Aileen Moreton-Robinson,, Linda Tuhiwai-Smith,, Chris Andersen, and Steve Larkin. (eds), Handbook of Critical Indigenous Studies, London:: Routledge;, pp. 5264.
    [Google Scholar]
  64. Wilson-Hokowhitu, Nālani. (ed.) ( 2019), The Past before Us: Moʻokūʻauhau as Methodology, Honolulu, HI:: University of Hawaiʻi Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  65. Wander, Maggie. ( 2021;), ‘ Making new history: Contemporary art and the temporal orientations of climate change in Oceania. ’, Journal of New Zealand & Pacific Studies, 9:2, pp. 15578, https://doi.org/10.1386/nzps_00072_1
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/nzps_00072_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/nzps_00072_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error