(Re-)collecting memories : walking as an exploration of place

Abstract

This research project investigates how walking as an artistic practice might facilitate the recollection of place memories. The study revolves around exploring a chosen area in Malta known as Swatar - one that holds fond memories. This practice-based research draws on walking as the primary methodology; walking entails being present, promoting direct engagement with the landscape and the environment and, in turn, informs the direction of my unplanned wandering. One step after the other, the place can be fully explored via embodied, sensorial engagement. However, it was established that walking was not enough to facilitate place memory; which is why this study includes a secondary methodology - collecting. I collect objects and materials, and document the place through photographs, videos, sound recordings, sketching, and note-taking. Through all of this, I aim to map out the place. Data was collected throughout repeated walks performed over a year and a half, resulting in a deep understanding of the place under review. I then used the data to represent my subjective memories of the place by creating a digital take on the 'wunderkammer', the cabinet of curiosities, in the spirit of Mark Dion and André Malraux. The 'wunderkammer' showcases a series of collages that juxtapose the collected data representing three chosen sites within the place to shed light on how phenomenological experiences can be documented and presented to preserve memories of place. Ultimately, the findings show that walking, collecting, and mapping can be used to subjectively preserve a place, and that an online 'wunderkammer' enhances recollection of place memory.