Seismic media: art and geological co-creation in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand.

This article examines the concept of "seismic media" as a framework for understanding artistic and creative responses to the extensive earthquake sequence that began in September 2010 in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand. Seismic media refers to the dynamic interplay between the unstable earth as a medium, the mediation of seismicity through art and media, and the resulting cultural texts and objects that express the experience of living with ongoing geological upheaval. The essay highlights how artists and communities engaged with the transformed cityscape through sound, image, memory, and performance, fostering new geoaesthetic and geo-social understandings during the transitional period of recovery and rebuilding. It also situates these local practices within broader historical and political contexts, including colonial histories and Indigenous perspectives, emphasizing the co-creative relationship between humans, the environment, and the planet’s seismic forces.