What is it about?
In this essay, I discuss the different ways that three Taiwanese Indigenous visual artists interact with the ocean as part of their creative process. The ocean appears in their work as a teacher, but for each artist, the ocean teaches something slightly different. Sometimes these lessons resemble mainstream environmentalism. Yet, they often show ways that the ocean challenges non-Indigenous understandings of time, history, and personhood
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Photo by Yuki Ho on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This essay shows how Indigenous artists challenge mainstream notions of environmentalism. By doing so, they may suggest different ways of relating to the ocean and to each other
Perspectives
This work was at times difficult to write. It brings together conversations that I've had with these artists over a nearly twenty year period, my own experiences working in and alongside the ocean in Taitung County, and several years of reading. Part of the essay is also a reflection on what these artists--and the ocean--have taught me
DJ Hatfield
National Taiwan University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: O Riyar ko Singsi Niyam/The Ocean is Our Teacher, July 2025, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004739154_003.
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