How can we achieve climate and ocean justice in the face of the emerging deep-sea mining industry? This PhD project employs innovative arts-driven visual and spatial analysis to critically investigate the future impacts of deep-sea mining within the green transition and the broader climate crisis affecting oceans and coastal communities. By creating visual narratives, the project addresses the under-researched aspects of the ecological crisis, particularly within the context of the blue economy, which complicates the use of ocean resources for economic benefits while protecting livelihoods and ecosystems.

Central to this investigation is the acknowledgment that data is vital for understanding deep-sea mining and its implications. The project examines how the production, control, and communication of scientific data intersect with power dynamics, utilizing frameworks from political ecology and Science and Technology Studies (STS). It positions disparate data as both an investigative tool and contested sites of environmental politics, highlighting the often-ignored voices of marginalized coastal communities.

Through practice-based methodologies, the project seeks to transform complex environmental data into accessible visualizations, integrating traditional ecological knowledge and nonhuman perspectives with scientific data. By fostering participatory approaches and circular aesthetics, the project aims to amplify narratives of those impacted by environmental degradation and climate change.

"Beneath the Deep Surface" will unfold through three interconnected investigations, each rooted in real-world case studies that explore the convergence of environmental data, indigenous knowledge, and climate science. Ultimately, it aspires to contribute valuable insights to the urgent discourse on climate and ocean justice

Keywords:

• Climate justice
• Ocean justice
• Deep-sea mining
• Environmental data
• Arts-driven methodologies
• Visual narratives
• Indigenous knowledge
• Nonhuman life
• Political ecology
• Blue economy
• Spatial analysis

Olga Lucko (Olya) is an artist-researcher, architect, and co-director of INTERPRT (www.interprt.org), a research and design studio focused on visual and spatial investigations of environmental destruction and human rights. Since 2015, she has led over 10 investigations in Brazil, Nigeria, the Pacific Ocean, and Norway, and has participated in more than 30 international exhibitions and public forums on environmental issues. Currently pursuing her doctoral studies at NTNU KiT, Olya develops innovative, arts-driven methodologies to critically investigate the future impacts of the emerging deep-sea mining industry within the context of the green transition and the broader climate crisis affecting oceans and coastal communities.