Street art and visual ecocriticism

This paper explores the meaning and potential impact of a number of street artworks that in different ways address and problematise how human beings relate to the biotic community – that is to say a community founded on biocentrism that includes as its members “soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land” (Leopold, 1949/1968, p. 203.).

The paper argues that while, for example, information campaigns and documentaries based on research conducted within the natural sciences are useful for transmitting facts about environmental challenges, art can involve an audience more subtly on an emotional level and address attitudes and lifestyles, as well as societal, existential and ethical values. It is further argued that this is especially true if an artwork is encountered in an unexpected setting like urban public space, where surprising shifts in perspective and meaning may open up a space for reflection.

The paper is part of an ongoing research project funded by The Crafoord Foundation and The Gyllenstierna Krapperup’s Foundation.