Petro-images of the Arctic and Statoil’s Visual Imaginary

Abstract

This chapter explores the visual propaganda accompanying resource extraction in the Arctic by way of the example of the Norwegian oil drilling company Statoil. The author argues that Statoil’s imagining of the Arctic may be understood as a visual colonization of the Far North, contributing to a shift in the popular understanding of the Arctic and its resources. The images of Statoil’s operations, the landscapes they are situated in, and the relationship between the industrial operations and the nature in which they are embedded, contribute to the construction of the company’s visuality. Studying the images of Statoil is crucial to developing a counter-visuality, a right to know the realities of the exploitation of energy resources, which is key to a democratic politics. The author demonstrates the potential of visual culture approaches to a critical study of the Arctic in the Anthropocene and to the environmental humanities.