Nuclear Paradise
vum Dr. Lis Kayser a vum Laurent Sturm
Nuclear Paradise is a vivid exploration of the complex legacy of nuclear colonialism on the Hao atoll in French Polynesia. Once a military hub and decontamination site for France’s nuclear weapons testing program in the South Pacific, Hao is now a place where the remnants of atomic splendor and post-military devastation uneasily coexist. Between 1966 and 1996, under the French Defense Ministry’s Centre for Experimentation in the Pacific (CEP), 193 atomic and thermonuclear devices were detonated nearby, forever shaping the island’s landscape and its people. Through the anthropological insight of Dr. Lis Kayser and the evocative photography of Laurent Sturm, this book dives into the lived experiences of Hao’s residents, who, despite – or perhaps because of – their nuclear military past, continue to embrace their home as a cherished paradise. It reveals how the residents’ nostalgia for the military era intertwines with the lasting effects of colonial exploitation and environmental degradation, creating an ambivalence that shapes their post-military present. Supported by the Centre National de l’Audiovisuel (CNA) Luxembourg, Nuclear Paradise invites readers to confront the unsettling reality of a place where history, identity, and hope remain inextricably linked.
ISBN 978-2-87996-096-8
Available at Librairie Ernster & Diderich
Biographies
Laurent Sturm is an independent photographer based in Luxembourg. He is specialized in photojournalism, documentary, and travel photography. In 2023, Laurent successfully completed the Photojournalism program by Polka Magazine and Sp.os International Photography School in Paris. Since 2001 Laurent’s photographic work has been presented at numerous exhibitions at Galerie Nei Liicht, Rotondes, Pop Up Galerie Cado+, Koll an Aktioun, Kulturfabrik, and Parc Merl. In 2021, Laurent joined Lis on her second field trip to the Hao atoll to begin his first documentary photography project.
Dr. Lis Kayser holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Aarhus, Denmark. Her research focused on “nuclear nostalgia” on the Hao atoll in French Polynesia. As part of the larger research program on “Radioactive Ruins: Security in the Age of the Anthropocene (RADIANT)”, based at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), she conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork, exploring how local residents navigate the complex legacies of nuclear colonialism, environmental degradation, and infrastructural decay. Her expertise spans nuclear humanities, island anthropology, and memory studies, with a focus on humanenvironment relations, primarily in the South Pacific. Through her research, she seeks to shed light on the lived experiences of those most impacted by nuclear processes, challenging conventional narratives and reconfiguring understandings of nuclearity.