Welcoming Back Lilian Kroth to Artica Svalbard

On a wild, stormy day in Longyearbyen, we are delighted to welcome back Lilian Kroth, who returns to Svalbard this month for a research residency.

Kroth is a researcher working at the intersection of philosophy, science, and aesthetic practice. Her work explores how the natural world is understood through concepts, scientific instruments, and visual methods, with a particular focus on climate, Earth observation, and remote sensing technologies. She is currently affiliated with the University of Fribourg, where she contributes to the Swiss National Science Foundation–funded projects Aerial Spatial Revolution and Seeing like a Satellite, and is a member of the research group Aesthetics & Critique.

With a background spanning philosophy and fine arts, Kroth engages with drawing as both a philosophical and aesthetic method—an approach that treats drawing as a way of thinking and generating knowledge across disciplines.

During her time in Svalbard, Kroth will develop the project Seeing Ice Like a Satellite, which investigates how satellite imagery shapes contemporary understandings of glaciers and cryospheric environments. While satellite images play an important role in communicating climate change, their apparent objectivity can obscure the complex processes and interpretations behind their production.

Through drawing as a critical research practice, Kroth will explore the relationship between ground-based experience and orbital vision—examining what it means to “see” ice through the satellite’s eye. By engaging with scientific visualisation, satellite infrastructures, and in-situ perspectives, the project seeks to reveal the hidden assumptions and processes embedded within remote sensing technologies, contributing to broader conversations around climate data, aesthetics, and contemporary ways of seeing.

We look forward to following Lilian’s research during her return to Svalbard.