Imaged in Absence

Imaged in Absence is a four-channel video installation, which emerged through a process of cutting, moulding, modelling, 3D scanning, and animation, where material and historical processes intersect within a virtual space. Rather than offering convergences of material, cultural, and technological histories as a fixed point, this work opens up possibilities for remembering through indeterminate and fragmented data-scapes. Imaged in Absence presents an ambiguous terrain, where material histories are fragmented, narratives are dislocated, and remembering is partial.

Since 1995 a collection of thirteen water wells from the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) of the Early Neolithic have been discovered during archaeological excavations in Saxony, Germany. Timber beams reinforced the walls of the wells, creating vertical tunnels reaching down into subterranean depths. The discovery of these structures rewrote local histories of carpentry, becoming the earliest known examples of joinery from Central Europe that are still in existence today. Due to reactions with air and water that cause wood to rot, timber constructions rarely survive for long. Sealed in an anaerobic environment, these wells were preserved underground for over 7,000 years, before their recent unearthing.

Imaged in Absence was developed following my participation in Ergersheimer Experimente in 2017, an experimental archaeology workshop held annually in the town of Ergersheim, Germany. Ergersheimer Experimente was initiated in response to the excavation of the wells, and the specific remnant tool marks evident in the wells’ timbers. Run by a team of local archaeologists, the workshop investigates woodworking techniques from the German Early Neolithic, exploring ways in which material histories can be rethought during embodied encounters with site.

Image credits: Jessica Maurer

Acknowledgements:

This project would not have been possible without the generosity and hospitality of countless people. Many thanks to the following individuals for their support: Bianca Hester, Mikala Dwyer, Harald Stäuble, Rengert Elburg, Thomas Reuter, Maria Cladders, Sabine Wolfram, Saskia Kretschmer, Frank Schell, Bernhard Muigg, Willy Tegel, Christoph Herbig, Wulf Hein, Jacqui Shelton, Laura Carthew, Kenzee Patterson, Clare Britton, Biljana Novakovic, Audrey Newton, Chris Sciuto, Vicki Gutierrez, Kate Beckingham, Kat Sawyer, Bridget Crone, Sam Nightingale, Alison Brookes, Andrew Keogh, Rebecca Dal Pra, Paul Gilders, Erin Keogh, and Clare Keogh. Thanks also to Landesamt für Archäologie Sachsen and Ergersheimer Experimente.