Tidalectic Curating

Abstract

The recent proliferation of exhibitions about oceans calls for an analysis of their curatorial premises. This article identifies curatorial methodologies consisting of procedures and exhibitions that not only speak about, but also through their oceanic subject matter in a performative way. The term ‘tidalectics’, coined by the historian and poet Kamau Brathwaite to articulate a worldview that eschews static land and evolves alongside water and flux, serves as an anchor to analyse curatorial work guided by oceanic thinking. The author argues that through a tidalectic methodology – which takes cues from natural processes such as the ebb and flow of the tide – current ecological, societal and onto-epistemological shifts can be addressed productively.