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The Death of Great Ships: Photography, Politics, and Waste in the Global Imaginary

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  • Mike Crang

    (Department of Geography, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, England)

Abstract

The iconic images heralding an age of connectivity are the plane and the trace of digital flows bearing information. However, not far behind has been the cumbrous yet essential ‘big box’ of containerization, shipping all manner of goods across the planet on great vessels remorselessly circling the globe. Critiques of global trade have latched upon the counterimage of these mighty ships' ruinous carcasses beached and being broken in South Asia. Here then is the antipode of globalization—ships, once carrying cargoes, now themselves sold around the globe for scrap and ending up broken up according to the very logics of cheap locations that their routes made possible. This paper interrogates these counterimages of global capitalism. Looking at the works of various photographers it examines how waste ships are made to work aesthetically. It examines the photo-documentary and traditions of the industrial sublime to find ‘time-images’ that speak to the material and labour worlds of global capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Mike Crang, 2010. "The Death of Great Ships: Photography, Politics, and Waste in the Global Imaginary," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(5), pages 1084-1102, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:42:y:2010:i:5:p:1084-1102
    DOI: 10.1068/a42414
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alastair Iles, 2004. "Mapping Environmental Justice in Technology Flows: Computer Waste Impacts in Asia," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 4(4), pages 76-107, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daryl Martin, 2014. "Introduction: Towards a Political Understanding of New Ruins," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 1037-1046, May.

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