Sunghee Joe
Keywords: Mnemonic space, Recollection, Digital weaving
This work explores the concept of an anthropological place—a location that has physically disappeared yet remains profoundly connected to those who once inhabited it.
An anthropological place is more than a space occupied over time; it is richly layered with relationships, practices, and memories accumulated between people and their surroundings. Even when such places physically vanish, they continue to have a profound influence on individuals.
Memories of a grandmother’s house, demolished during urban redevelopment, serve as a central motif in this work to articulate this idea. By gathering fragments of memory through family photographs and conversations with family members who remember the place, these collected memories are reconstructed into a new scene, blending reality with imagination. This process highlights how even an absent space can retain emotional and cultural resonance.
The meanings derived from recalling a lost place extend beyond mere nostalgia. Through reflection, ways of living, relational sensibilities, and emotional experiences embedded within that space are revisited. Ultimately, these memories become foundational elements for imagining and creating new anthropological places in the present.
