REFLECTING OIL: ARTS-BASED RESEARCH ON OIL TRANSITIONINGS

As society edges towards a deeper awareness of the decline of fossil fuels as an energy source and the urgent need to reduce the carbon emissions which contribute to global warming and climate change, the project Reflecting Oil: Arts-Based Research On Oil Transitionings offers innovative multi-perspective reflection about crude oil, one of the most important fossil fuels characterising modern life. The project is grounded on the hypothesis that fresh perspectives to rethink this omnipresent yet often elusive liquid in its material dimension as a chemical mixture, its real-world dimension as a geopolitical cause of conflict and pollution and its symbolic sociocultural dimension as a frontier myth-like object of desire can be illuminated through the use of arts-based research methods and thus help to inform the transition to clean energy in an original way. Drawing on the latest developments in arts-based research, contributions by international petro-artists and recent theoretical advances in the emergent academic field of Energy Humanities and interrelated disciplines, the principal investigator, accomplished Austrian artist Ernst Logar, will embark on a series of artistic experiments involving crude oil which are to be carried out in the laboratories of Montanuniversität Leobens Department of Petroleum Engineering with the support of its scientists and an interdisciplinary team of experts from the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Universities of Alberta and Waterloo, the other cooperating academic institutions. Creative, hands-on manipulation of the material by artists and non-artists, and the imaginative use of technical equipment, will make the formal, industrial space of the laboratories into sites for speculative exploration and fresh ways of thinking. The project will break new ground in arts-based research by providing a unique means of engaging with the diverse perception levels of crude oil (its visual appearance, colour, smell, tactile sense, viscosity, toxicity, etc.) with a view to contribute to the development of a creative representation and narrative of oil to facilitate the publics transformation of perceptions and imagination of a democratic future beyond oil. A congruent, critical artistic discourse making profound meaning of the multidimensionality of unique artworks emanating from this engagement will be part of the research contribution. The project will use a multi-method approach characterised by interrelated artistic experimentation, interdisciplinary reflection facilitated by the collaborative team, and dissemination through a diversified public outreach strategy (a public petrocultures colloquium, exhibitions, public talks and exhaustive documentation both online and in print media). The state-of-the-art research infrastructure facilitated by the cooperating institutions will ensure that research outputs are all of the highest quality, and that each project phase enhances our understanding of 21 st century societies oil transitionings. The project will strengthen the collaborative exchanges between scientific and artistic communities and further Austrias research capacity.

Based on art-science collaboration, Reflecting Oil examines the fossil raw material crude oil and its effects on society from various perspectives. The interdisciplinary project is a collection of arts-based research that includes practical action and an observation of the raw material in the context of petroculture. The research results provide a basis for the necessary social, cultural, and technological transition towards sustainable energy sources. Reflections on crude oil in the fields of petroleum and the humanities often occur without direct physical experience of the substance. This project was about a holistic consideration and understanding of crude oil accomplished through crude oil experiments and the sensory perception of the substance. The research approach thus focuses on sensory perceptions (e.g. colour, smell, etc), aesthetic and symbolic interpretations, and provides insights at the levels of multisensory and practical knowledge. The project encompassed a wide range of activities, including crude oil experiments, reflection workshops, online workshops with experts, and an international colloquium in 2022 to creatively question and rethink crude oil. An exhibition was realised in 2024 that presented the scientific contributions and artistic works to the general public. The Reflecting Oil open access publication published by De Gruyter in 2025 summarises the project and documents the research findings. A variety of artistic works, scientific contributions, a graphic novel, innovative artistic crude oil experiments, and numerous online workshops were realised, generating new representations and narratives about crude oil. Furthermore, as part of the project, lectures, additional exhibitions, performance lectures, student workshops, a seminar, and a conference workshop at the Norwegian Petroleum Museum were conducted. There were also numerous print and online media reports and two radio broadcasts. The project has raised awareness about petroleum among the general public through numerous events, workshops, and media contributions. It has also contributed to a change in perception of the national cooperation partner, the University of Leoben's Department of Petroleum Engineering, which has included the topic of petroculture in its curriculum (through its "Petroculture & Energy Transition" seminar). Artistic crude oil experiments have also been included in the Department's workshop repertoire. Furthermore, a series of courses was conducted at the University of Applied Arts Vienna which sensitised students to the topic of oil and petroculture, resulting in new artistic works.