Background
Despite the centrality of water in the context of ecological crisis recognized internationally in the policy world, water is continued to be theorized and acted upon through the anthropocentric and exploitative logics. Modern ontological and epistemic approaches towards water are shaped by the determinism of neoliberal capitalism, the monoculture of Eurocentric science and the anthropocentric-patriarchal domination of nature. In modern times, water has been separated from its relation to the land, humans, and other species and become a commodity or a resource to manage. In the recent years, due to the growing needs of the industries, the extraction and use of raw materials, including water, has been rising globally along with its detrimental environmental effects. Moreover, as scholars argue, such processes of advancing extractive capital have generated a new dynamic of colonial development. Although colonial oppression of humans, land and water have been contested, many continue to be severely affected by development projects causing environmental conflicts worldwide. As awareness of the unsustainability of the current political and economic models increases, researchers call to better understand the “problem of living despite economic and ecological ruination” and “to think about water with a new sense of urgency” in its relation to the livelihoods of human communities as well as other species.
Funding
The project is funded by the Kone Foundation.
Partners
The project collaborates with Tampere-based artist Natalia Batrakova.