Speculative and Creative Methodologies for Historical Counter-Narratives: Spatial Archive, Scenographic Practice and Fictioning (R-10913)

Perceiving classical historical discourses as constructed narratives of colonialist, imperialist and patriarchal ideologies, this project considers their fictionality as an opportunity to explore and construct alternative historical narratives or counter-narratives. My interest lies in minor narratives and stories, found in the liminal areas of historical records and their leftovers (dreams, visions, rumors, etc.). They allow me to re-frame hierarchical epistemological structures and open new possibilities for critical thinking. This project focuses on diverse historical characters, which operated outside the discourses of power, and were seen as troublemakers or antiheroes, among them Sappho, Mikhail Bakunin, St. Thecla, Mary Anning, Emanuel Swedenborg, Michel Leiris, and others. Yet, these people pursued visionary endeavors that inspired later generations for cultural and political change. This transdisciplinary artistic research project is informed by historical, ethnographic, scenographic, and literary theories, methods and practices. The strategies guiding my research will be imaginative engagement, fictioning, counter-narration and autohistoria. The outcome of this project will be a combination of scenographies, installations, performances as well as academic and artistic publications. As the main outcome, I propose to create a spatial archive of historical figures, a scenographic arrangement in which the mistreated figures and stories are rethought

Keywords:Scenography

Disciplines:Philosophy of history, Literary theory, Critical heritage, Scenography, Installation