New Field Notes: Bianca Hisse and Christian Danielewitz Reflect on Svalbard’s Extractive Landscapes
Bianca Hisse and Christian Danielewitz
Artica Svalbard is pleased to announce that a new instalment of Field Notes, written by former residents Bianca Hisse and Christian Danielewitz, is now available to read.
Nominated for their residency by Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), Hisse and Danielewitz spent Autumn 2025 in Longyearbyen undertaking a shared research project exploring the intertwined infrastructures of extraction, science, and geopolitics that shape the contemporary Arctic. Their newly published Field Notes, titled simply Fieldnotes, offers a vivid, sensory, and critical account of their journeys across the archipelago—from meltwater rivers near Longyearbyen to the coal-mining settlement of Barentsburg, and the cosmic ray research station perched above Grønfjorden.
You can read the full text of the article here: Fieldnotes — by Bianca Hisse and Christian Danielewitz
Drill cores scattered along the archipelago are material indicators of Svalbard’s long history of scientific inquiry.
About the Artists
Bianca Hisse (Brazil/Norway)
Artica Resident: Autumn 2023
Bianca Hisse is an artist working across performance, writing, and spatial interventions, focusing on the politics of movement, borders, and embodied forms of knowledge. Her work frequently reflects on the infrastructures—visible and invisible—that shape how bodies navigate contemporary territories. During her time in Svalbard, she explored how extractive histories and scientific practices become inscribed in local geographies, soundscapes, and cultural imaginaries.
Christian Danielewitz (Denmark)
Artica Resident: Autumn 2023
Christian Danielewitz is an artist and writer interested in the global circuits of extraction, environmental violence, and the material residues of imperialism. His long-term projects often involve fieldwork in areas marked by heavy industry, mining, and geopolitical tension. In Svalbard, Danielewitz examined archival traces of mineral exploration, Soviet-era scientific networks, and the evolving connections between data, territory, and power.