"the
archaeological involves an explicit focus upon the materiality of society,
with social experiences rooted in all the cognitive and emotional faculties
and senses of the human body....the term 'sensorium', a culturally located
array of the senses, was coined to try to deal with this embodiment, under
a proposition that a task of the humanities is to ground social reconstruction
and understanding in sensorial, cultural arrays of the intellect and senses
embodied in social practice" (mike pearson and
michael shanks, theatre/archaeology, p.10)
the site provides me with a wealth of material through which to carry out artistic investigations.
I am particularly interested in the idea that archaeological remains 'embody' the residue of past lives. the quote on the left suggests to me that the material remains of a society 'contain' the experiences of that society.
this project, through an exploration of the sensual potential of these objects (sight/touch) and other knowns (sound, historical record) is trying to develop a more meaningful method of experiencing them than in glass cases with labels. a way that can encompass imagination and emotion.
