Purpose
Making Memories aims at examining these trends as we assume that general conceptions of the war to a large extent are based on aesthetic representations. The ability of art to make people and situations come alive helps to catch the interest in what has happened, link it to our present, and offer both captivating, thought-provoking and contested interpretations. We examine which topics are addressed, how they are scientifically and artistically treated, what discussions they enable, and what function they have in contemporary cultural and political contexts.
The central idea is that the past emerges in dynamic negotiations between existing interpretations and new interests and that the war in Norway is created and recreated as a product of changing cultural memories and aesthetics. Therefore, the project emphasizes examining how the war is presented as a complex product of various voices, texts, images and objects based on conditions and needs in contemporary society.