Dissection

What can we learn when we dissect the collapsed form? The post-mortem analyses conducted by history of times of crisis is an important process of understanding the world that has come before us. The process is of course inherently selective, and curated with biases. This provokes the question of how do cut a slice out of the chaos that allows to understand the past? Particularly in times of crisis how do we demonstrate the complex nexus of histories which coalesce, converge and diverge in a way that is both inclusive and digestible? Through thin sections and core sections geologists can observe material process and make conclusions about crystallisation, the rate of cooling and mineral compositions or through analysing stratified layers of sedimentation they can make observations about the climate, or flora and fauna across different geologic epochs. This material analysis of geologic time is embodied information, with content subject to the agency of the viewer; how can a monument be a material embodiment of historic events, of political agendas and ideologies of its time? What happens when this is subject to an object/audience dynamic of a different time?