As We Used to Float

More about the book

Straddling the genres of travelogue and critical essay, As We Used to Float explores Bikini Atoll as a space of fantasy and trauma. Situated in a remote region of the Pacific Ocean, between 1946 and 1958 ist ‚paradise’ islands were subjected to twenty-three of the most powerful explosions in history – during Operation Crossroads, the United States nuclear testing program. Since then, their fate has been largely ignored. While toggling between a personal account of a sea journey, above and below water, and a critical investigation of postcolonial geography , As We Used to Float develops broader reflections on place and subjectivity. These spring from a series of narrative immersions, variously taking on the psychological and astehtic parameters of ultra-deep scuba diving, the decaying ‚Ghost Fleet’ of World War II battleships, irradiated coconuts, and more As We Used to Float is a sea-story for our time.