This thesis reimagines the discourse on natural reserves as colonial legacies. It examines historical environmental policies, focusing on key figures shaping their implementation by colonial powers. Attention is given to the rights of nature as a form of resistance within legal systems reacting to environmental policies. Granting legal personhood to nature counters extractivism and translates non-Western frames into Western discourse. As an Eastern European artist, I intervene within Czech Republic's Divoká Šárka reserve. Our collaborative project centers around an imaginative narrative where Prague's Divoká Šárka natural reserve is granted personhood status in 1989. I explore Divoká Šárka's struggles, questioning the dismissal of real issues due to perceived neutrality. Through art, I scrutinize the emancipatory potential and limits of personhood in our neoliberal society. Combining theoretical analysis and art interventions, I assess conservation policies and dynamics. Drawing on posthumanist, decolonial, and ecofeminist discourses at Divoká Šárka, I speculate on how conservation institutions can confront their modernity heritage and address present complexities.

Author: David Přílučík