Mid Sweden University

Witnessing takes form in various disciplines, from the documentary arts, environmental humanities, and artistic-research. Against ecological violence and climate crisis, artists adress incomplete histories and pervasive myths through the act of witnessing. This presentation aims to raise questions and inspire discussion regarding place-based artistic practice as a form bearing witness to- and reimagining- sites of environmental crisis. I will introduce my doctoral project which focuses on the case of the Nämforsen waterfall-turned-hydropower-plant along the iconic Ångermanälven River in Northern Sweden as a site of collective memory and imaginary potential. Through interpretive environmental rephotography, plant-based photography, and other acts of witnessing and revision, the project aims to problematize urgent challenges in representation and visibility. Drawing upon recent archive/fieldwork from this project-in-progress, this presentation opens up for a dialogue related to themes such as witnessing and revisionary impulses within artistic practice.