Mining, Materiality and Memory: Lingering Legacies in Longyearbyen
When the old power plant at Longyearbyen on Svalbard in the Arctic was decommissioned in 1983, the building was earmarked for demolition. However, the presence of asbestos made the cost of removal too high and the building remained closed for more than 35 years. Now, its fate is once again being exa...
Published in: | Journal of Contemporary Archaeology |
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2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jca.21643 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JCA/article/download/21643/25869 |
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crequinoxpubl:10.1558/jca.21643 2024-06-23T07:50:24+00:00 Mining, Materiality and Memory: Lingering Legacies in Longyearbyen A Case Study of the Peculiar Afterlife of Longyearbyen’s Old Power Plant Brode-Roger, Dina 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jca.21643 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JCA/article/download/21643/25869 unknown Equinox Publishing Journal of Contemporary Archaeology volume 9, issue 1, page 104-120 ISSN 2051-3437 2051-3429 journal-article 2022 crequinoxpubl https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.21643 2024-06-13T04:11:04Z When the old power plant at Longyearbyen on Svalbard in the Arctic was decommissioned in 1983, the building was earmarked for demolition. However, the presence of asbestos made the cost of removal too high and the building remained closed for more than 35 years. Now, its fate is once again being examined. Ideas for its potential future include establishment as an industrial memorial, a site for cultural events, a tourist attraction and/or a monument “of fossilised time”. Questions of which past is to be remembered, which uses are acceptable, which materiality is to be kept – and in what condition – all permeate the project, which is called FOSSIL. This paper examines different aspects of the project from both a material perspective (Identity of Place) and a human perspective (place-identity), bringing up questions of politics of memory, museumification, and the desired and undesired facets of heritage that the project engages with as it shapes the power plant’s (re)incarnation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard Equinox Publishing Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard Journal of Contemporary Archaeology 9 1 104 120 |
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Equinox Publishing |
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crequinoxpubl |
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description |
When the old power plant at Longyearbyen on Svalbard in the Arctic was decommissioned in 1983, the building was earmarked for demolition. However, the presence of asbestos made the cost of removal too high and the building remained closed for more than 35 years. Now, its fate is once again being examined. Ideas for its potential future include establishment as an industrial memorial, a site for cultural events, a tourist attraction and/or a monument “of fossilised time”. Questions of which past is to be remembered, which uses are acceptable, which materiality is to be kept – and in what condition – all permeate the project, which is called FOSSIL. This paper examines different aspects of the project from both a material perspective (Identity of Place) and a human perspective (place-identity), bringing up questions of politics of memory, museumification, and the desired and undesired facets of heritage that the project engages with as it shapes the power plant’s (re)incarnation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brode-Roger, Dina |
spellingShingle |
Brode-Roger, Dina Mining, Materiality and Memory: Lingering Legacies in Longyearbyen |
author_facet |
Brode-Roger, Dina |
author_sort |
Brode-Roger, Dina |
title |
Mining, Materiality and Memory: Lingering Legacies in Longyearbyen |
title_short |
Mining, Materiality and Memory: Lingering Legacies in Longyearbyen |
title_full |
Mining, Materiality and Memory: Lingering Legacies in Longyearbyen |
title_fullStr |
Mining, Materiality and Memory: Lingering Legacies in Longyearbyen |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mining, Materiality and Memory: Lingering Legacies in Longyearbyen |
title_sort |
mining, materiality and memory: lingering legacies in longyearbyen |
publisher |
Equinox Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jca.21643 https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JCA/article/download/21643/25869 |
geographic |
Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Longyearbyen Svalbard |
op_source |
Journal of Contemporary Archaeology volume 9, issue 1, page 104-120 ISSN 2051-3437 2051-3429 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.21643 |
container_title |
Journal of Contemporary Archaeology |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
104 |
op_container_end_page |
120 |
_version_ |
1802641285239013376 |