Swiss Ocean Services

This series explores Switzerland’s historical and ongoing entanglements with colonialism, extractivism, and racism, as well as the nation’s persistent hesitation to confront and assume responsibility for these legacies. Epitomized in apparent paradoxes such as ‘colonialism without colonies’, ‘a global trading hub without natural resources’, and ‘a marine giant without a sea’, Switzerland’s self-perception as an innocent and neutral political entity is sustained by a Swiss ‘tradition of not-remembering’. Like a shell whose resonance evokes memories, Swiss Ocean Services mobilizes sound as a medium for critical aural history. The posts presented here aim to revitalize conversations on Sonic Swissness, its past and current manifestations, and necessary reformulations in more solidary and inclusive ways. https://parastatal.art/sound-series/@swissocean