Summary: Listings of the names of survivors (and their extended families through the present) are projected upon the walls and surrounding grounds of sites where atrocities have taken, or are currently taking, place. The thousands of names could be projected along with audio of interviewed survivors at the site and would be brought up through randomized generation via computer(s). Also, video and/or photographs of the survivor's families could be used in addition the the name listings.
In its simplest form, the main rationale behind such a project would be to couple the usual mourning of the lost and murdered with an acknowledgement of the lives of the living survivors and their families. This way, the bringing of light (both literally and figuratively) into these places of horror helps to transform the spaces into ones not only of death, but of life itself.
In the included example, the walls of various buildings at the Auschwitz death camp (a gas chamber, the main entrance, a guard house, Block 10 of Mengele, and the camp Commander) are to be covered with the names of survivors. Though this example is a mockup for the Auschwitz, it must be mentioned that any and all urban and/or geographical sites where the horrors of oppression and war have taken place (or, again, are currently happening) could be considered as possible sites where such an installation could be constructed. Others of interest could be: the US/Mexican border, the contemporary walls and DMZ areas in North Korea and Israel/Palestine, and the Gulags of the former Soviet Union and forests of Yugoslavia, just to name a few of the more obvious choices.
Summary: Listings of the names of survivors (and their extended families through the present) are projected upon the walls and surrounding grounds of sites where atrocities have taken, or are currently taking, place. The thousands of names could be projected along with audio of interviewed survivors at the site and would be brought up through randomized generation via computer(s). Also, video and/or photographs of the survivor's families could be used in addition the the name listings.
In its simplest form, the main rationale behind such a project would be to couple the usual mourning of the lost and murdered with an acknowledgement of the lives of the living survivors and their families. This way, the bringing of light (both literally and figuratively) into these places of horror helps to transform the spaces into ones not only of death, but of life itself.
In the included example, the walls of various buildings at the Auschwitz death camp (a gas chamber, the main entrance, a guard house, Block 10 of Mengele, and the camp Commander) are to be covered with the names of survivors. Though this example is a mockup for the Auschwitz, it must be mentioned that any and all urban and/or geographical sites where the horrors of oppression and war have taken place (or, again, are currently happening) could be considered as possible sites where such an installation could be constructed. Others of interest could be: the US/Mexican border, the contemporary walls and DMZ areas in North Korea and Israel/Palestine, and the Gulags of the former Soviet Union and forests of Yugoslavia, just to name a few of the more obvious choices.