//the collective memory collector //2008Keepsakes – objects of memory in everyday life: their semiotic narratives in the scope of site tourism and event culture.
The first keepsakes and souvenirs of historical events were/ is being produced and kept by survivors who had to live on with their memory of the past/ present.
This project focuses on a series of mass produced souvenir objects, which are often sold at historical sites. These objects are a typical representation of a traditional souvenir keeping behavior which has a commonplace in public memory often connected to events seen as so-called breakdown of civilization.
This work initially takes the form of an explorative reserch and is then followed by an analysis from a cultural semiotic perspective. Eventually, I am seeking for analogies by comparing the structures of collective memory collecting, which clearly represent a “negative memory” with those of historical sites, which mediate an interpretation of positive historical events.
*keepsake: something kept or given to be kept as a memento.
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