Respects des Fonds (essay)

Respects des Fonds explores the process, methodology and ethical concerns of introducing instability into the archives knowledge producing schema. Working with the Empire and Commonwealth Museums film archives to produce contemporary video works, Erika's practice and essay explores the inherent violence within archival practices and the making of new knowledge and meaning.

The publication explored the ways in which the archive itself, or archival or found materials, have been central to the work of a number of artists whose practice deals with issues of history, identity or memory. Picture This commissioned essays and researched case studies on individual works drawing together a range of voices to reflect upon the role of the archive to contemporary film and video practice. Ghosting contained essays by Eddie Chambers, Amna Malik, Uriel Orlow, Lucy Reynolds and Erika Tan, and illustrated case studies on works of The Atlas Group, Ansuman Biswas, Matthew Buckingham, Neil Cummings and Marysia Lewandowska, Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi, Douglas Gordon, Johan Grimonprez, Susan Hiller, Patrick Keiller, Marcel Odenbach, Harold Offeh, Uriel Orlow and Ruth Maclennan, The Otolith Group, Erika Tan, Fiona Tan and Mark Wallinger.

The term ‘Ghosting' exists as both a metaphor and a reference to technical terminology. The title alludes to the idea of an apparition, of articulating an authorial position in re-imagining or re-awakening ghosts of the past. In addition Ghosting is a term used to describe the appearance of an overlapping secondary image on a television or a display screen but also refers to the ‘ghost of acidification', the impact that the ravages of time has on nitrate film.

The Ghosting initiative took place over a period of around three years during which substantial research, training, commissioning, debate and exhibition activity has taken place.

• http://www.picture-this.org.uk/library/p...