Lucie Belle Blanche David

EMPTY MEMORY,
masterthesis. 2023–24

from the Art&Science Department of the university of applied Arts vienna.

The artistic component of the masterthesis ‘Empty Memory’ was exhibited at alte Postsparkasse (PSK) during the AAA-Festival (Angewandte). Vienna, January 25–30, 2024.

This work combines historical science with artistic methods to explore the intertwined realms of memory, history and narrative construction; highlighting the bizarre complexity of the subject of history as a science. By exploring the narrative of creating ceramic vessels as a research methodology, the author analyses the non-linear, fragmented nature of the resulting research. This personal narrative resonates throughout the work. This work also compares the science of history to the water that moulds the vessels and weaves the feelers through the concepts of memory, perspectives of historiography and the role of silence in remembrance. By sculpting the vessels, this interdisciplinary research offers a perspective on the shaping and experiencing of historiography. It presents the inclusion of artistic practice by introducing a sculptural space of memory containers in which (alien) beings come to life and wait to be filled with new memories.This work combines historical science with artistic methods to explore the intertwined realms of memory, history and narrative construction; highlighting the bizarre complexity of the subject of history as a science. By exploring the narrative of creating ceramic vessels as a research methodology, the author analyses the non-linear, fragmented nature of the resulting research. This personal narrative resonates throughout the work. This work also compares the science of history to the water that moulds the vessels and weaves the feelers through the concepts of memory, perspectives of historiography and the role of silence in remembrance. By sculpting the vessels, this interdisciplinary research offers a perspective on the shaping and experiencing of historiography. It presents the inclusion of artistic practice by introducing a sculptural space of memory containers in which (alien) beings come to life and wait to be filled with new memories.