Bluespace, Senses, Wellbeing, and Surfing: Prototype Cyborg Theory-Methods

Abstract

Bluespace, where water people immerse themselves for thrills, therapy, or thalassography, is constantly fluctuating, influenced by materials, nature, and discourse. Drawing on onto-epistemological aspects of embodied theory-method, we report entangled prototype “cyborg” in situ strategies (mobile, sensory [auto]ethnography, and self-interview) to notice, record, and ultimately create human–water relations, from the perspective of a surfer. Audio/-visual evidence, from multiple perspectives, folding time, and several point-of-view devices, enabled unique insights into voiced thoughts, sights, sounds, and conscious/subconscious practices that occur in surfing. Such insights into the relationships, experiences, and movements of surfers inform research, such as to wellbeing and to the challenges of investigating bluespace. We offer cyborg theory-method for further methodological and onto-epistemological consideration in such relationships, contributing to a growing understanding of more-than-human engagement with watery worlds.