The Palimpsest Archive demands participation. To understand the narratives that exist within the documents requires them to be placed in conversation with one another. I initially began to explore the archive in use through an iterative tableau exercise. Scans of the documents were positioned and overlayed to glean different compositions that live within the archival material. Each time the archive is used, only one narrative is explored. Multiple histories exist concurrently.
The materiality of the archive enables layering, which is not translated through the digital renditions. This observation inform the intentions for the video essay. Dual narratives can be conveyed through the physical positioning of the documents, suggesting the necessity of a performance of the archive in use during the video essay.
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