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Abstract

This thesis investigates the links between how the ocean has been imaged historically and how this imaging has impacted on environmental conservation values surrounding the sea in western culture. Pictorial images of the sea have been dominated by the seascape that, whilst showing the effects of light and wind on water, have not uncovered what lies beneath the surface, leaving the ocean to become a repository for waste. In contrast, Romantic landscape artists of the eighteenth century were influential in changing attitudes towards place that led to preservation. I argue that as the sea has been depicted as empty, vast and dangerous by artists, or illustrated as scientific curiosity, protection of the ocean has only been a recent development. Critical change for ocean habitat occurred through the documentary films and television series of Jacques Cousteau, who invented SCUBA gear and also revealed to the world the wonder of life under the oceans. I also contend that documentary artists, like Jacques Cousteau, play a crucial role in conservation efforts as they add to a continuous environmental story that influences how we culturally perceive our environment. Although conservation efforts have increased, ocean habitats still remain under enormous pressure and threat, and therefore I see my work as part of a story that can influence perceptions. In my work, the conduit to changing these perceptions is wonder, which at its core has an ethical dimension. I have utilized my own wonder to examine the effects of the desalination plant at Kurnell in Sydney

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