ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a historical snapshot of an early period of Freedom Park’s formation, from the mid-1990s through to the early 2000s. It starts with a conceptual overview of monumentality, visuality and ways of seeing. The chapter then discusses a set of concepts of seeing that emerged out of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process. It shows that Freedom Park was explicitly built up to be conceptually and symbolically monumental before its construction, and in the criteria used for selecting its location in the capital city Pretoria, and positioned to be a focus of attention for how the past would be engaged. Ultimately, the chapter shows that Freedom Park’s material and conceptual formation as a new heritage project was implicated in the state’s attempted formation of a visual sensibility, or a distinct way of seeing as a common sensory mode of apprehending the past.
