Isobel Harbinson
Hydrofeminist Embodiment in Contemporary Waterscapes
Fine Art Postgraduate Researcher
Supervisors: Dr Olga Smith and Dr Fiona Anderson
Art History
I am an art historian researching the intersections of gender, ecology and embodiment in contemporary art, with a particular interest in hydrofeminist approaches. My PhD is funded through the NUAcT studentship in ecocritical art history. I work primarily with film and photography, focusing on contemporary artistic practices that engage with water.
My project explores the use of water in contemporary film and photographic works by women and gender non-conforming artists. Drawing on ecofeminist, hydrofeminist and posthuman frameworks, it considers how water can foster embodied connections between human and more-than-human life. The project foregrounds the body as a site of resistance against the interconnected ecological and social injustices under capitalist-patriarchal systems. At a time in which many are acknowledging that the climate crisis must serve as fundamental context for all future scholarly work, this thesis seeks to explore how artistic engagements with water can cultivate ethical relationships with more-than-human worlds.
My research interests centre on ecocritical and feminist approaches to the analysis of contemporary art and visual culture. This includes, but is not limited to, ecofeminist, posthuman, and new materialist frameworks. I am particularly interested in questions of embodiment, care, and relationality, as well as ecocritical and watery methodologies. I am drawn to artistic practices that articulate new and alternative modes of more-than-human coexistence.
Outside of my research, I enjoy wild swimming, yoga, and hiking, particularly in freshwater landscapes. I am also interested in how these practices can support wellbeing and a connection to the natural environment.
I am co-organiser of the Posthuman Feminist Reading Group, an interdisciplinary and international reading group for early career researchers engaging with
posthuman feminist approaches to technology, embodiment, and contemporary theory.
In March 2025, I presented the conference paper ‘Live Dangerously at the NMWA: Tracing the Ecofeminist Curatorial Turn’ at Expositions Écoféministes: Contenus, Formes, Évolutions, Histoires at Université Grenoble Alpes. This paper is forthcoming in a 2026 volume published by Presses Universitaires de Saint-Étienne.
