ABSTRACT
“Practices of memorialization” include the full array of physical, often embodied actions through which memory agents – both individuals and groups – recall the past in the present. In particular, this piece focuses on a brand of these memory practices that I call memory encroachments (2020). Memory encroachments are memorial objects that intrude upon the daily life of passers-by in unexpected and potentially powerful ways. These are not the large-scale public memorials and monuments that feature prominently in public squares and parks, in tourist guidebooks and TripAdvisor recommendations. Instead, they are often small and unremarkable, blending into a cityscape. When they are noticed, however, they open up an opportunity for active remembrance, through which passers-by are asked to reframe their view of the spot on which they stand and, consequently, the supposed “pastness” of past violence.
