We are delighted to welcome Lilian Kroth to Artica Svalbard
We are delighted to welcome Lilian Kroth to Artica Svalbard who has arrived for a residency this May and June 2025.
Kroth is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Her academic work sits at the intersection of the history and philosophy of science and art, with a focus on remote sensing, mediated technologies, and how knowledge is shaped by the tools we use to observe the world.
While in residence, Kroth is developing a drawing-based research project that examines how icy environments are perceived through satellite imagery. From everyday tools like Google Maps to scientific climate visualisations, satellite images play a central role in how we understand remote or inaccessible regions. Her work draws attention to the layers of mediation and interpretation involved in these images—often mistaken for straightforward representations.
Using drawing as both method and metaphor, Kroth will explore elements such as spectral data, image compositing, and the visual metaphors used to describe satellite vision. Her process spans pencil and cold needle etching, working across both abstract and figurative approaches. The project aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of climate imagery, promoting artistic satellite data literacy and embodied ways of seeing.
Kroth’s current research includes Seeing like a Satellite: Drawing as a Research Method to Investigate Icy Environments (2025) and Aerial Spatial Revolution (2024–2027), supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
She holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, where her doctoral work focused on Michel Serres’s philosophy of limits. Previous academic positions include the Centre Marc Bloch in Berlin and the University of Groningen. She also co-organised the CRASSH research network Remote Sensing: Ice, Instruments, Imagination in Cambridge. Kroth studied Philosophy at the University of Vienna and Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
We look forward to seeing how her research develops during her time in Svalbard.
Follow her work:
📸 Instagram: @lilian_kroth
🐦 X: @KrothLilian