The Subterranean Corridor: Subsea Tunnels and the Search for New Territory in the Faroes

This chapter is based on the thesis that a ‘sea change’ is occurring in the Faroes of the 21st century and that this transformation – which in more than metaphorical nature – has been brought about by the sea. Submarine space is being appropriated in futuristic infrastructure projects that are continentalizing the Nordic Atlantic society. The relation between the world above and the world below the sea is reconfigured, and the new vertical landscape gives us the opportunity to reassess images of island communities and reflect on what an island is. The chapter discusses the value of vertical and volumetric approaches to the critical anthropological study of islands and subsea tunnels. It examines the relation between islandness, modern infrastructure, and the colonized territory below the seabed. The changes in transportation infrastructure influence the perception of the sea among islanders.