Re-voicing the memories of others: Artisitc Distillation or distorted amplification

This paper reflects on the creative processes involved in the making of a video art project Monument 1: 'Well, I never…?' (see www.wellinever.org). The project explores the inter-relationship between private memory and public space: mapping autobiographical memories - fragments of emotional histories scattered throughout a town - as autonomous stories, and was exhibited in an empty shop unit on the High Street of Pontypridd, Wales, UK, in August 2007. The framework for the critical reflections considers the artist as translator, this positioning of the artist is informed by discussions between Dramaturge Katja Krebs and the Artist. The dialogue between artist and dramaturge, creative impulse and conceptual framework, offers a constructive perspective on the making of collective texts which engender and shape collective memory. How the 10 short films which make up the memory monument can, yet sometimes do not, challenge and subvert convention of medium and genre, but do however allow for the possibility of becoming part of a collective memory. The paper argues, such sharing of the personal stories can subvert the alienating and external control over public space we are witness to, and lead to a greater sense of connectivity between the inhabitants of an urban settlement.