Visual Representations of the Arctic : Imagining Shimmering Worlds in Culture, Literature and Politics

Privileging the visual as the main method of communication and meaning-making, this book responds critically to the worldwide discussion about the Arctic and the North, addressing the interrelated issues of climate change, ethics and geopolitics. A multi-disciplinary, multi-modal exploration of the Arctic, it supplies an original conceptualization of the Arctic as a visual world encompassing an array of representations, imaginings, and constructions. By examining a broad range of visual forms, media and forms such as art, film, graphic novels, maps, media, and photography, the book advances current debates about visual culture. The book enriches contemporary theories of the visual taking the Arctic as a spatial entity and also as a mode of exploring contemporary and historical visual practices, including imaginary constructions of the North. Original contributions include case studies from all the countries along the Arctic shore, with Russian material occupying a large section due to the country’s impact on the region

Markku Lehtimäki is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Turku, Finland.

Arja Rosenholm is Professor of Russian Language and Culture at Tampere University, Finland.

Vlad Strukov is an Associate Professor at the University of Leeds, UK, and a researcher at Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Russia.