Proximity Of The Enemy — Gretahauer.xyz

Notes

^{01 Topographical Model, UK, 2016}^{02 Topographical Model, UK, 2016}

^{03 Detail of Topographical model, UK, 2016}

^{04 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 121, Regime of Islands, JM, 1982}

^{05 Volcano Growth - Latest Activity Report, Smithsonian Global Volcanism Database, US, 1973 - 2013,

volcano.si.edu

06 Watan Marine Private Estate Report, Island Laws, UK, 2014

07 Footage of the rising Island, Credits: Smithsonian Global Volcanism Programme, volcano.si.edu

08 Heat Map, Image Credits: JCG - Japanese Coast Guard - Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department, JP 2014

09 Rendering of Nishinoshima Island before it merges with Rosario Island, extending Japans maritime borders, JP / UK, Nov 2014}

~ Proximity Of The Enemy

A new island around 1,000 km south of Tokyo that was created by a volcanic eruption a month ago has more than doubled in mass. It has not been named, given the possibility it will unite with neighbouring Nishinoshima Island in the Ogasawara chain. As volcanic activity is continuing, the government is closely watching. If recognised as Japanese territory, the new island would expand the nation’s territorial waters by several hundred meters.’ Japantimes, 13 December 2013

In 2013, a volcanic eruption led to the appearance of a new island in the Pacific Ocean – the maritime setting of an ongoing dispute between neighbouring nations. The rise of Nishinoshima caused the expansion of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – an area that stretches 200 nautical miles from a national coastline, allowing individual countries to exercise sovereign and jurisdictional rights, such as the exploitation of resources. The volcanic island catalyses the ongoing economic and geopolitical conflict of the East China Sea and its undefined borders.

The project uses various media – topographical model, film and fictional writings – to re-enact the sudden rise of the island and its political implications. Considering various actors – a Japanese coast guard, a Chinese fisherman, and a private investor – a scenario is drafted to explore a possible future of the island. The outcomes are not fixed objects, but rather points of departure, replicating a moment within a maritime dispute.

Proximity of The Enemy, Exhibition ‘Of The Sea’, Chatham Historic Dockyard, UK, 2016

Greta Hauer Info

~ Proximity Of The Enemy