Marinescu, Ioana; (2023) The Archive as Witness. Bucharest: space | image | voice. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This practice-led research project investigates the relationship between place, memory and archives in cities transformed by radical erasure. It is focused on Bucharest in Romania, where the central historical area of the city surrounding Uranus Hill was razed in the 1980s by the political regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu to make way for a new centre of power. By working with different archival sources, I aim to bring to life the memory of the erased districts of Bucharest, to help overcome the trauma of demolition and displacement. The project addresses the role of archives and cultural memory in difficult historical contexts and in the process of coming to terms with the past. How can the archive act as a witness of the past in the context of the present? What are the different modalities of activating archival material, and of bringing it into public space and consciousness? What is the role of the voice and the body in activating the archive? The archive is seen as a possible response to erasure, witness to a historical moment and a place that no longer exists. It connects past and present, individual experiences and collective memories; it provides a place of knowledge and imagination for the future. My research is based on theories of memory and archives, particularly through the conceptual lens of the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur. In my practice-led work I operate at the intersection between archival and memorial art practices, moving from a passive, collected archive, to generating, transforming and performing archival material through visual and bodily engagement with images. Archival fragments (photographs, testimonies, memory drawings) are brought into the public sphere and activated either through performative actions or by being placed in temporary and site-specific installations in the city. The different works generate occasions for dialogue between generations, inserting the archival material in the collective imagination. They provide a model of participatory practice that can be applied to various conditions of displacement or erasure.

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