Excavating the Photo-Archive: Exploring Memory and Healing through the Creation of Radical Archives

Abstract

This project considers the use of photographic archives in works of two contemporary artists, Diego Cirulli and Ayana V. Jackson, because their work results in the production of radical archives. Radical archives depart from traditional archives in curatorial intention, form, and function to reveal narratives previously unexplored. Through the analysis of the archival artwork of an Argentine artist and a North American artist, this project explores the radical archive as a mechanism of repurposing knowledge and memory transmission in two specific regions that bear unique histories of oppression. These artists provide alternative methods of knowledge production to traditional archives. Archival art is best understood by analyzing its construction, performative aspects, and engagement with public feelings. The production of radical archives through archival art has therapeutic effects that enable healing processes in response to histories of trauma and misrepresentation not only for the individual artist but for the community. This work is a contribution to the developing study of radical archives in terms of memory and historical representation.