Day 2: Memory Palace

Whilst visiting the V&A I went to the Memory Palace. The Gallery displays different ways of remembering memories explored by Hari Kunzru in his narrative. Texts were printed on the walls of 

the gallery with a range of commissioned pieces by 20 international illustrators, graphic designers and typographers. The memory palace shows the way in which we read books are changing and gives a visual idea of the story being told. 

The story I researched on the V&A website tells us "Hari Kunzru's story is set in a future London, hundreds of years after the world’s information infrastructure was wiped out by an immense magnetic storm. Technology and knowledge have been lost, and a dark age prevails. Nature has taken over the ruins of the old city and power has been seized by a group who enforce a life of extreme simplicity on all citizens. Recording, writing, collecting and art are outlawed. The narrator of the story is in prison. He is accused of being a member of a banned sect, who has revived the ancient ‘art of memory’. They try to remember as much of the past as they can in a future where forgetting has been official policy for generations. The narrator uses his prison cell as his ‘memory palace’, the location for the things he has remembered: corrupted fragments and misunderstood details of things we may recognise from our time. He clings to his belief that without memory, civilisation is doomed." 

The story sparked a lot of emotions within the gallery although it was harder to read and actually remember the story whilst viewing the artworks. I feel that my favourite piece is the screens where the many different ways of creating words was explored through the visual of film that repeatedly played. I liked this because it gave a modern approach to the work which is something I enjoy as well as an emotional response from the viewer. As I stood in front of the screens many people came up and said the same thing "what is he doing?" or "why is he doing that?" this is something that artists want to happen because it grabs the audience and keeps them wondering inspiring and moving the viewer through an emotional response. I myself was a part of this and still do not understand the meaning or concept of the piece I was viewing.

At the end of the gallery you were able to leave a memory. A desk with two screens allowed you to draw your own memory and submit it to the gallery; once this was submitted you could see your memory within the screen in front of you. These white drawings were then printed on black paper every couple of weeks, placing them on the walls of the gallery. This is a great way to engage the audience and many were excited with the idea of having their own work within the gallery.