(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

Mapping practices became a predominant strategy to negotiate social and cultural aspects through space in the context of memory. On one hand, the use of mapping in this sense can be read as the evidence of the difficulty of creating physical counter-memory spaces in relation to political, social, cultural and economic dynamics. On the other hand, when we look from the perspective of counter-monument concept, especially for digital practices, it can be read as the result of the potentialities behind the digital and interactive spaces which enable more democratic, participatory, open and multicultural processes in contrast to the idea of traditional monuments or museums as places of memory. From this perspective, this paper discusses the relationship between space/place and memory in the context of counter-mapping practices and counter-monumental concepts. It opens a discussion by examining some mapping cases from Turkey. For this purpose, public interviews, project websites and news are used to reveal the production processes of the maps, the motivation and purpose behind the maps, the form of the maps and their mode of representation. This study reveals the use(s) of mapping as a strategy to connect architectural narratives, places and the past, including personal and collective memory – memorialisation, as well as its potentials for participation.