In the last decade, we have witnessed an illiberal shift in Russia, Azerbaijan, and several other countries in the Eurasian region. This new wave of authoritarianism is characterized by growing criticism of Western green policies, which strengthens discourses of anti-environmentalism and neo-extractivism in transnational context. The project focuses on segments of contemporary visual cultures in Russia and Azerbaijan that conceptualize oil as a strategic resource for national sovereignty and security. The cultures of these states have been increasingly weaponized and turned into a tool for advancing oil-based economies, despite global efforts towards sustainable consumption and production, as outlined in Goal 12 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To investigate weaponization of visual discourses, we conduct an interdisciplinary, multi-modal analysis of selected materials created in Russia and Azerbaijan since the 2010s. These include films, audiovisual texts, digital images, artworks, performances, and exhibitions \u2014 both those supported by the states, and those produced by independent artistic groups, which oppose official petroaesthetics and neo-extractivist narratives. By examining weaponization of culture and theorizing visual anti-environmentalism in non-Western petrocultures, the project fills the gap in some of the most overlooked segments in the fields of energy humanities and environmental aesthetics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-7079","project","type-project","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n