Paper short abstract:

The paper examines human/puffin narratives, which take part in breaking “traditional” human/non-human divisions within the context of museums, art and tourism. The main question is: Is the puffin an active agent in the Anthropocene, which takes part in contesting human-centred narratives?

Paper long abstract:

In our current times of ecological crisis, biodiversity loss and climate change the importance of breaking “traditional” barriers between humans and non-humans has increased. The “othering” of animals and how they have been represented within diverse human centred visual and material narratives needs serious re-consideration. In this paper the main focus is on human/non-human visual narratives and material representations, which take part in breaking these “traditional” divisions. In particular, I examine encounters between humans and the Atlantic puffin within the context of museums, art and tourism in Iceland. Among questions explored are these: How have human/puffin relations been displayed within the context of museums, art and tourism in Iceland? Can the puffin be seen as an active agent in the Anthropocene, which takes part in contesting human-centred narratives? In the examination, presented in this paper, I use a combination of research approaches to analyze material gathered through semi-structured interviews with museum staff, digital ethnography and visual methods to study museum webpages and digital/visual representations of diverse human/puffin relations within and beyond museum walls. Several works of Icelandic contemporary artists, which have been engaging with human/puffin relations in their works, will also be taken into consideration.