Unfolding Memory

At first glance, memory might seem like a fragile cloud floating over; a spark in the fire; a transparent image which vaguely remembers something that has passed. The memory embodies as much the present and the future as it refers to history. One must address the roots we came from to move forward. We are a chain of events, bodies of molecules and primordial waters passing over generations. It is the weirdness in the air, a crack in the stone and the salt in your tears that reminds you of things, although they might have never happened to you in person. The corporeality of memory goes against the linear perspective of time that puts past/present/future in a strict chronological order, it holds the potential to shift between these more fluidly and freely. Through the physical embodiment of events or the witness that matter once bore to an account, there is a concurrent existence of it that transcends the past/present/future paradigm.

Hrair Sarkissian, the ambassador of this fold on Memory, is an Armenian-Syrian artist using photography to address themes of memory, trauma, and the passage of time. His works often focus on sites of historical violence and their lingering presence in collective memory. In his two-channel video ‘Homesick’ (2014), Sarkissian recreated and destroyed an architecturally exact scaled model of the apartment building in Damascus of his parents. Sarkissian grew up in this building and lived there until he left Syria in 2008. It represents more than just a house. In addition to providing shelter to his parents, it is the place where he belongs, a container for his memories, and a place for his family’s collective identity. Hrair Sarkissian was the last artist that we presented in #sea_youhere 2.0. The artist recommended several texts, some of which have been added to our growing library and will be further explored in our reading sessions.

In fold #12 on Memory, which is poetically the last fold of the four-year program on art and sustainability, we aim to connect concepts such as memory and materiality with ecology and sustainability, exploring speculative scenarios that envision a sustainable relationship between humans and the environment. By drawing on the dynamic interplay of various ecological dimensions, the implicit nature of collective memory, and the physical artefacts as carriers of impressions, SEA seeks to unfold innovative ideas and practices supporting sustainable futures.

Implicit Collective Memory

When situating memory we may explore how collective memory is influenced and how memory frameworks shape each other in many ways. Astrid Erll’s (2022) concept of implicit collective memory emphasises the unspoken, recurrent ways in which societies remember. This form of memory is embedded in cultural practices, rituals, and everyday interactions, often operating below the level of conscious awareness. The invisibility that has been characteristic to this form of memory has been uncovered by Erll in her paper The hidden power of implicit collective memory as part of Memory, Mind & Media published by Cambridge University Press. She points at the generationally that allows for subconscious memory to be inherited, through which customs and beliefs are spread amongst generations.

Ritualisation of Memory

Through allocated rituals and traditions related to memory, it might be easier to uncover the systems and ways in which memory is converted between bodies and generations. Cultural rituals and traditions serve as vessels for implicit collective memory, embedding ecological awareness and sustainability practices into the fabric of daily life. The previously mentioned physical accounts of memory can become sites of ritualisation through their role in creating a seeming immortality of the memory. Physical objects, landscapes, and built environments act as tangible carriers of memory. The material world around us holds traces of the past, influencing how we remember and relate to our environment. Interactions with these monuments hold the potential to reconnect with memories over and over again, throughout time, relating to changing generations and interconnecting them. Can artworks become vessels for memory to be passed on? SEA Foundation explores whether artworks may hold this same potential of connecting timelines through memory, orality and objects.

Both physical objects and non-material customs form a delicate thread through changing times. Passed through generations, these rituals may be seen as a tool to uncover the implicit collective memories of families and communities and how they engage with their environment, non-human actors and each other. In addition, Andrew Hoskins’ “ecology of memory” exemplifies how precisely collective celebration, shared emotion, and other forms of affective ecology can solidify memories within a community. Rituals then become a mode to pass on memory as a way to include and pass on newly formed ones.

Ecology of Memory

Andrew Hoskins’ “ecology of memory” suggests that memory is not a static repository of the past but a dynamic, interconnected system influenced by various environmental, social, and technological factors. This approach views memory as an active process, continually reshaped by interactions within its surrounding ecological context. Hoskins’ framework includes:

Natural Ecology: The physical environment and natural landscapes play a critical role in shaping collective memory. Environmental changes, such as climate change or natural disasters, can profoundly affect how communities remember and interpret their histories.

Affective Ecology: Emotions and affective responses are central to how memories are formed and recalled. Shared emotional experiences, such as collective mourning or celebration, can solidify memories within a community.

Discursive Ecology: Language and narratives shape our understanding of the past. The stories we tell and the ways we communicate about past events influence collective memory.

Technological Ecology: Advancements in technology, especially digital media, have transformed how memories are stored, accessed, and shared. Digital platforms enable new forms of remembering and forgetting, altering the traditional modes of memory transmission. The digital environment, encompassing social media, online archives, and virtual realities, creates new spaces for memory to be constructed and contested.

The comprehensive approach of Hoskins’ framework indicates the complexity of the lifespan and nature of memory and the multi-sidedness that needs to be taken into account when trying to approach the subject. It also underlines the need for a multidisciplinary approach in these attempts; memory exists outside of individual domains and asks us to consider it from a collective and interlinked perspective.

The intersection of Memory, Art, Ecology, and Sustainability

Many artists embrace the fluidity of memory, emphasising both personal and collective experiences and their subjectiveness concerning their environment and ecologies, causing a (subtle) change in time. We are offered many perspectives, each influenced by their respective contexts and cultures. This encourages us to consider a collective recollection of past/present/future that is only deemed collective when it is perceived as interlinked and connected. It pushes us to critically examine how we record, document and conserve these accounts that bear witness to our shared memories. By recognizing the mutual shaping of memory contexts, we nurture deeper connections.

By integrating the concepts of memory and ecology, we can develop a deeper understanding of sustainability. Practices that emphasise ecological awareness can foster sustainable behaviours and attitudes, while sustainable practices can shape collective memories in ways that reinforce environmental stewardship. The intricate connections between memory, art, ecology, and sustainability highlight the importance of an integrated approach to understanding and addressing environmental challenges. By emphasizing cultural sustainability and preserving traditional knowledge, highlighting the interconnectedness of local and global memories and recognizing the slow process of ecological change, we can foster planetary responsibility, resilience and foresight.

Programme

The programme is born out of a conviction that artists’ perspectives have an important role to play in the framing of international, national and institutional responses to threats and conflict. We believe that the capacity of the arts to effectively influence policy development has not been systematically explored, exploited or applied. The world is at a crossroads as humans have tapped the natural resources of our world that far exceed the rate of nature’s ability to recover. The ecological crisis is overwhelmingly the result of human action. And at the same time, humans must find humane ways to sustain our species and our planet. During 2020 we presented artists/artist collectives in a virtual vitrine that brought us closer to the specific focus of diverse practices which we perceived as crucial in addressing sustainability in a socially engaged way. The #sea_youhere virtual vitrine started as a showcase of artistic practices and developed into an open-ended research programme.

Reading sources

Erll, Astrid. (2022). The hidden power of implicit collective memory. Cambridge University Press.

Hoskins, Andrew. (2016). Memory ecologies. Memory Studies. 9. 348-357.

Marçal, Hélia. (2022). Ecologies of Memory in the Conservation of Ten Years Alive on the Infinite Plain. Reshaping the Collectible: Tony Conrad, Ten Years Alive on the Infinite Plain,

Tate Research Publication. https://www.tate.org.uk/research/reshaping-the-collectible/conrad-ecologies-memory, accessed 13 July 2024.

This is a selection of reading resources on Memory. For the full reading list suggestions visit the Memory reading list.