Residual

Abstract

This thesis paper will explain how "Residual" is a manifestation of my wrestling with these ideas of displacement and removal from the war. I will also discuss "Residual" through lens of what Associate Professor of Art History at Bryn Mawr College Lisa Saltzman terms as "circles of reflection." "It is here, in a joint responsibility that the traumatic events, that is, fragmented and isolated events are shaped into a history which was witnessed and can be told to others. This introducing of "wider circles of reflections," an activity, of which the survivor him-or herself is unable, can be seen as the construction of a context for the traumatic event. This context, intersubjectively and culturally shared, functions as a frame of reference which heals the trauma." (Saltzman 226) Saltzman explains these "wider circles of reflections" within the framework of dialogue between a survivor and a witness. "Residual" uses the essence of this idea, but illustrates it by using physical space. The conceptual, formal, and contextual function of "Residual" will be elucidated as I begin with the outside "circle of reflection" of the Commons gallery and move into the intimate, interior details of the installation. "Residual" is an exhibition that endeavors to present in visual, audio, and material forms the devastating, continual effects of ethnic cleansing on the people of Kosovo. Through the use of "circles of reflection," "Residual" creates several different positions for the viewer to engage with the layers of Kosovar and personal memory made visible within the gallery.