The cosmos appears chaotic to us.
Behind this lies an inner, logically constructed structure.
The cultural overlay of this system gives rise to imaginary lines—constellations and a further level of meaning. The entire area of the huge burial ground in Maly Trostinec becomes a memorial to those who were murdered. The forest is traversed without paths, preserving the authenticity of the site. Frame elements are grouped together in the forest. Imaginary lines organize the chaos of the forest structure, images organize space, and define locations for clearings. Ten groups are arranged according to the date of deportation from Vienna and Theresienstadt, creating a common structure of remembrance for each.
The elements of the steel frame construction create a space that can be entered. The threshold creates an atmospheric shift between walking through the area as a whole and approaching the individual victims. The frame elements contain 60 personal memorial plaques with names, dates of birth and death, which are suspended from rods. The wind moves them slightly. The name plaques are chrome-plated and rotatable. Their rotation creates light effects in the sun that can be seen deep into the area. The chrome-plated surface reflects the viewer and, together with the name and the forest in the background, reflects them back onto themselves. On a meta-level, a connection is created between the victim, the place, and the visitor. The bereaved can attach personal items to the back of the plaque.
EU-wide open competition,
October 2013
Organizer:
IM-MER
Initiative Malvine – MalyTrostinec
Project team:
Lidia Lozano Requena
Pawel Zabczynski