Precious Property. Infrastructures of Oil and Water in Kuwait

Hindelang, Laura (18 May 2017). Precious Property. Infrastructures of Oil and Water in Kuwait (Unpublished). In: The Global Petroleumscape. Technische Universität Delft. 17. - 19.05.2017.

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The history of oil production and the history of desalination are greatly entangled in Kuwait. With the expansion of the oil industry, the subsequent demographic growth, and the change in living standards since the early 1950s, the need for drinking and irrigation water became central to the project of modernization in the arid Gulf country. Briefly tracing the history of water supply and oil exploitation in Kuwait in the 20th century, this paper sheds light on the representational, architectural, and aesthetic implications of water and oil infrastructure. Following Susan Leigh Star’s (1999) understanding of infrastructure as a relational concept, deeply immersed in a producer-user network and a broader political, economic, and sociocultural environment, I investigate the conditions of visibility and invisibility of water and oil as materials and of their infrastructures as a reflection of how oil and water were connotated, represented and negotiated in the context of Kuwait. It shows that water and oil – both natural, fluid and very

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Division/Institute:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Art History 06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Art History > Architectural History and Preservation
UniBE Contributor:	Hindelang, Laura
Subjects:	700 Arts 700 Arts > 720 Architecture 700 Arts > 740 Drawing & decorative arts 700 Arts > 760 Graphic arts 700 Arts > 770 Photography & computer art
Language:	English
Submitter:	Laura Katharina Hindelang
Date Deposited:	28 May 2020 12:29
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 15:38
Additional Information:	Konferenz; Fakultät: FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/143367