From the lighthouse in the Iroise Sea close to Ushant, an island off the coast of Brittany, there is nothing to see but the empty horizon. Yet these waters have witnessed dozens of shipwrecks and black tides. La Rel\u00e8ve<\/em> (2019) scans inscrutable waters and a rugged coastline that belie an unprecedented volume of maritime traffic, invisible beyond the closely surveyed horizon. Off-camera, a woman\u2019s voice describes identities, flags, and senseless routes travelled by ships from around the world, revealing the vertiginous degree of commercial activity involved in global trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humans\u2019 impact on the ocean is made more visible in Capucine Vever\u2019s multi-screen installation Dunking Island<\/em> (2022) and underwater film \u00d4 Diryank\u00e9<\/em> (2022), shot in Dakar\u2019s harbour near the island of Gor\u00e9e. Inhabited by the Lebu, a Wolof people who make their living from fishing, the island had been colonized in turn by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, and the British dating back to 1444. Gor\u00e9e and its surrounding waters have also played a fundamental role in trafficking and the triangular trade. Yet this is not the only story narrated in the film by singer Wasis Diop, whose own words and voice haunt the images. Rising sea levels devouring the coastline, garbage dancing like ghosts in the ocean: elegant yet terrifying reminders of how global consumerism and climate change are altering the ocean to the point that it is surprising how many fish still spawn in its turbid waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two worlds collide here: factory ships and the local fishing community. Their existence is filmed by a camera jostled, destabilized, by the swell of the waves, their crests visible in the shots. This sea is not the one of epic nature documentaries: the light does not sparkle on its surface; its blues are sullied by particles. These underwater landscapes all bear the marks of a human civilization that is invasive, dirty, extractive, and uncaring. Diop\u2019s voice addresses\u200a\u2014\u200aand incarnates\u200a\u2014\u200athe sea, masterfully interweaving stories of colonization and exploitation. Through these two explorations of oceanic space, Vever offers a subtle yet acute perspective on the sinking of the modern era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated from the French by Louise Ashcroft<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historienne de l\u2019art, B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte Ramade est charg\u00e9e de cours \u00e0 l\u2019Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al et \u00e0 l\u2019Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al, o\u00f9 elle a effectu\u00e9 son postdoctorat. Sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9e dans les approches et pratiques \u00e9cologiques et anthropoc\u00e8nes, elle exerce le commissariat d\u2019exposition et la critique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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