Making Memory Space: Recollection and Reconciliation in Post ...

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sites of Apartheid forms the basis for Chapters Two and Four of this thesis, each suggesting differing solutions for approaching existing memory. The post Apartheid city The final, contemporary trope is that of the post Apartheid city, one that is struggling to reconcile the spatial divisions of the past with the ideologically-conceived notions of the all-inclusive ‘Rainbow Nation’. The historically-constructed cityscape is attempting to resituate itself both nationally and internationally, to take its place in the global landscape of tourist destinations while seeking to define itself as a new, multicultural place of inclusion. The difficulties inherent in redefining built form, the questions around the production of memory and the latent significance of sites of trauma all contribute to the issues addressed here. Examining the specific production of differing modes of memory space, this thesis seeks to better understand the role that official productions of memory space may play in a society undergoing radical change, growth and redefinition. In summary, it becomes clear that memorials and museums cannot be considered alone but are the result of spatial, historical, economic, social and political forces which all contribute to their production. In the same manner that memory does not exist in isolation and is prompted by a madeleine à la Marcel Proust or an image, token or visit to a site of the past, memory space and the memory it conjures up, are the products of the society and environment from whence they derive. In order to understand memory space more fully, it is necessary to appreciate the context that led to its production. Site plays a very significant role in the creation and maintenance of memory space: in the form of a ‘traumascape’ which witnessed the past or the establishment of a museum as a site- symbolic repository of memory. As a result museums and memorials are becoming intertwined, so that museums begin to operate as memorials and vice versa. Memory space becomes a visceral, emotive experience attempting to ground itself in the local while still appealing to the global. Contemporary memory practice in South Africa is seeking to identify a new form of memory language, one that suitably reflects an African oral tradition and makes meaningful a civic form that was traditionally alienating and exclusionary. It is attempting to acknowledge the presence of memory in daily life while simultaneously providing a version of the past that is palatable to a diverse audience. Furthermore, it is attempting to come to terms with sites of the past, both existing memorials and structures that facilitated Apartheid so that the city and the country may grow beyond the spatial confines of its Apartheid past. 32
2. TOPPLING TOTEMS: The Voortrekker Monument Edifices of Apartheid are being dismantled, papers are shredded, signs painted over, departments renamed. American collectors are buying the old ‘whites only’ sign that South Africans now repudiate. Those intent on promoting reconciliation at all costs see those who wish to preserve the history of the past as spoilers at best, revenge merchants at worst. But for the project of reconciliation to succeed, individuals and the nation require the physical evidence of our suffering and complicity to be displayed as part of a new pattern. 81 A new government’s attitude to its past can be significant in determining that country’s approach for the future. Erika Apfelbaum elucidates, ‘[T]he development of state politics of memory is vital because it establishes social and political frameworks which determine how individuals may emerge from devastating atrocities.’ 82 Personal healing also contributes significantly to national healing, which assists in the construction of revised positions of national identity. The establishment of a new identity for South Africa, one that in many respects is in exact opposition to that created by the previous government (among other qualities, inclusionary and diverse) is at the centre of a number of the decisions around the act of memorialising, and contributes to perceptions and values placed in significant architectures of the regime. 83 The significance of national identity cannot be overstated in terms of its genesis for decisions made historically and in its pivotal role in the policy making of a new government. 84 Judith Butler asks (primarily within the context of post 9/11 America) ‘[W]hat might be made of grief besides a state of war?’ and discusses how, in a desire to maintain a degree in invulnerability, certain forms of grief become nationally sanctioned and amplified, while other losses become unthinkable and ungrievable. 85 The determination of what may be recalled and what forgotten is particularly pertinent in South Africa, which, while seeking commonality between those privileged by Apartheid and those persecuted by it, must also reconstruct the long-held narratives of the past. The determination of ‘[W]ho counts as human? Whose lives count as lives?’ 86 are charged questions in the context of South Africa, where racial hierarchies have previously established an order of ‘value’. The hierarchy of victims also contributes to questions over which narratives of the past are valued, which retained and which disregarded. Official narratives, as they are promulgated into the national psyche, are often made manifest through the production of architectures that effectively institutionalise the 81 Ingrid De Kok, ‘Cracked Heirlooms: Memory on Exhibition’, in Sarah Nuttall and Carli Coetzee (eds.), Negotiating the past: the making of memory in South Africa (Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 2002), p.71. 82 Erika Apfelbaum, ‘Restoring Lives Shattered by Collective Violence: The Role of Official Public Narratives in the Process of Memorialising’, in Chris Van der Merwe and Rolf Wolffswinkle (eds.), Telling Wounds: Narrative Trauma and Memory, Working through the South African Armed Conflicts of the 20 th Century. Proceedings of the Conference held at UCT 3-5 July 2002, p.15. 83 Amareswar Galla, ‘Transformation in South Africa: a Legacy Challenged’, Museum International, Vol.51, No.2, 1999 (Paris: UNESCO, 1999), p.38. 84 For a comprehensive explanation of this policy, see: Gerard Corsane, ‘Transforming Museums and Heritage in Post Colonial and Post Apartheid South Africa: The Impact of Processes of Policy Formulation and New Legislation’, Social Analysis, Volume 48, Issue 1, Spring 2004 (New York and Oxford: Bergnahn Books, 2004). 85 Judith Butler, Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence (London: Verso, 2004), p.xiv. 86 Ibid, p.20. 33
Page 1 and 2: Making Memory Space: Recollection a
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr Hélène Frichot
Page 5 and 6: ABSTRACT Post Apartheid South Afric
Page 7 and 8: PREFACE During my recent travels, I
Page 9 and 10: spaces that are intended to facilit
Page 11 and 12: as the house of British multiple mu
Page 13 and 14: past and then resituate it in the m
Page 15 and 16: significance of site and built form
Page 17 and 18: 1. MEMORY AND SPACE Post Apartheid
Page 19 and 20: dominant narrative, and collective
Page 21 and 22: sometimes be radical change. Archit
Page 23 and 24: only able to visit museums at desig
Page 25 and 26: South Africa, and establishes a mod
Page 27 and 28: the intangible concept of cultural
Page 29 and 30: display, contributes to the product
Page 31 and 32: As discussed previously, ownership
Page 33 and 34: considered an exemplar of social at
Page 35: nationalism in an official way. The
Page 39 and 40: epetition of monuments or ideas - a
Page 41 and 42: In a political climate clamouring f
Page 43 and 44: Afrikaners. The narrative of stoici
Page 45 and 46: As an expression of the civilising
Page 47 and 48: espect, the memory space and the la
Page 49 and 50: heightened by its separation. Secon
Page 51 and 52: gain meaning and visibility within
Page 53 and 54: they are not in a position to contr
Page 55 and 56: past long before the Nationalist Go
Page 57 and 58: The African voice has been silenced
Page 59 and 60: accurate account of the past due to
Page 61 and 62: content to portray a definitive ver
Page 63 and 64: moving past a replica of the cemete
Page 65 and 66: the experiential model as an instig
Page 67 and 68: aggrandising force can determine th
Page 69 and 70: Throughout the museum, the visitor
Page 71 and 72: whereby the current political major
Page 73 and 74: In contrast, Georgi Verbeek suggest
Page 75 and 76: Giles Deleuze counters this positio
Page 77 and 78: such as Robben Island Museum where
Page 79 and 80: Summary In summary, the Apartheid M
Page 81 and 82: 4. PRESERVATION & RECONSTRUCTION: T
Page 83 and 84: aspirations for the future of South
Page 85 and 86: which occur at sites of trauma, off
Page 87 and 88:
has the potential to reiterate alre
Page 89 and 90:
individual vision of the present an
Page 91 and 92:
Addressing the past - the democrati
Page 93 and 94:
the new political regime. The resul
Page 95 and 96:
and inclusivity as a counter to the
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through the integration of cutting
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einforcer of the language of war th
Page 101 and 102:
5. COMMUNITY CONCEPTS: The Red Loca
Page 103 and 104:
originally conceived as part of a t
Page 105 and 106:
geographical focus, it acknowledges
Page 107 and 108:
of South Africa’s population, as
Page 109 and 110:
which the notion of ‘authenticity
Page 111 and 112:
uilding does not become a static, o
Page 113 and 114:
their own homes) and elegantly deta
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Memory in this context is also empl
Page 117 and 118:
acknowledge and celebrate the histo
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disregard for African modes of prod
Page 121 and 122:
CONCLUSION Whenever we are trying t
Page 123 and 124:
attempting to place memory at the f
Page 125 and 126:
All of these methodologies are base
Page 127 and 128:
concrete, wire and steel to articul
Page 129 and 130:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, Benedict. Im
Page 131 and 132:
Deegan, Heather. The Politics of th
Page 133 and 134:
Huyssen, Andreas. Present Pasts: Ur
Page 135 and 136:
McEachern, Charmaine. Narratives of
Page 137 and 138:
Simpson, Moira G. Making Representa
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