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Ideas of what is ‘true’ and authentic are central to how we value our heritage: the places, objects, and traditions from the past that we choose to safeguard for future generations. But how does truth inform authenticity? Heritage is significant to us not only for its historical accuracy, or truth telling powers; having social, symbolic and emotional relevance ultimately also determines its authenticity. When heritage is deliberately targeted, as we have seen in the case of the recent destruction of historic sites and objects in Syria, there is often a powerful urge to rebuild. But once heritage is destroyed, how can it be rebuilt such that its authenticity or ‘truth’ value is also restored?
Panel Discussion (21 October 2017, 15:00 – 16:00)
Both artistic practice and technological innovation have been applied to heritage reconstruction projects; Restoring Truth to Ruins? investigates the relationship between heritage and truth and asks what we can learn from the process of reproducing the past. Hosted by the Heritage Research Group of the University of Cambridge, this panel discussion will explore the intersection and interaction of truth and heritage featuring a panel of artists and academics from across Cambridge.
Panellists: Dr Dacia Viejo-Rose (University of Cambridge), Sarah Nankivell (Forensic Architecture), Martha McGuinn, Dr Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco (University of Cambridge), Dr Rachel Killean (Queen’s University Belfast)
Exhibition Opening (21 October 2017, 16:00 – 18:00)
The panel discussion will be followed by the opportunity to experience the reconstruction of Syrian heritage first-hand at the opening of Restoring Truth to Ruins? an interactive event featuring physical and virtual reproductions of sites and objects as well as artworks created in response to the destruction of heritage, including Forensic Architecture’s Bomb Cloud Atlas: Palmyra.
The exhibition at the Cambridge Central Library runs 21 October to 11 November 2017.
For more information, please visit the Event website.