STUDIO(dys)TOPIA

Archive of Spatial Knowledge

Irakli Sabekia (GE/NL)

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Archive of Spatial Knowledge is a curated collection of spatial memories hosted on an experimental digital platform. It gathers idiosyncratic spatial and social memory of individuals and groups who were forcefully displaced from the geographies of their origin or are denied representation and the possibility to build historical and cultural continuity in the locations of their current residence. The archive uses a mobile software application, as a tool to allow its contributors to attach their stories to geographic locations, creating a protected pool of knowledge overlaid on the physical landscape. At the same time, the archive functions as a spatial intervention. Using the same digital tool, the viewer of the archive can access the erased knowledge on location, to juxtapose invisible stories and the reality of physical spaces. The archiveā€˜s first edition addresses the issues of spatial justice in and around the Russian occupied regions of Georgia.

Biography

Irakli Sabekia is a Georgian designer and artistic researcher based in Amsterdam. His work explores the human position in relation to man-made and natural systems. Using a mixed toolset of artistic and scientific methods he engages with politics, society, and technology to open vacancies for alternative narratives and reevaluation of existing structures.

Credits

This artwork was created with the support of the Creative Industries Fund (NL) in 2021, and during the ArtScience Residency, enabled by the partnership of Ars Electronica and Deutsche Telekom and the Sustainable AI Lab at the University of Bonn in 2022.