Remembrance between Retrieval and Retro-projection

By referring to texts and images, but also to language and spatial and temporal metaphors, this talk will highlight some of the ways in which remembering and forgetting are intertwined in the dynamics of our memory. This applies both to individuals as well as to societies at large.

It makes a significant difference, however, whether material remains are available or whether this is not the case. But even in material archives, for instance, which are designed to enable and support remembering in acts of retrieval, temporary forgetting is an important structural element. Similarly, monuments partake of processes of forgetting which is foregrounded in ruins and relicts. It is with the help of artworks that such processes can become visible and stimulate reflection and debates.