Abstract
The concept of nuclear memory—understood as how societies preserve, transmit, and reinterpret the experience of the atomic age—has become a crucial topic in contemporary memory studies. In a time of renewed geopolitical tensions and recurring fears of nuclear catastrophe, art serves as a vital space for both working through and critically reflecting upon the nuclear legacy of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This paper examines selected artistic representations of nuclear memory—from installations and performances to film and digital projects—that seek to capture what escapes documentary representation: radiation, half-life, the absence of victims, and the silence of contaminated places. Particular attention is given to artists who employ archival materials and speculative strategies to create alternative forms of remembrance—posthuman, non-human, and planetary memories. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate how art can function as a medium of memory for a catastrophe whose consequences extend beyond human lifespans and perception, and how nuclear aesthetics reshape contemporary thinking about time, space, and responsibility toward the future.
Presenters
Kinga Anna GajdaAdjunct, Institute of European Studies, Faculty of International and Political Studies, Jagiellonian University, Malopolskie, Poland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Nuclear Memory, Nuclear Aesthetics, Cultural Memory, Art And Catastrophe
