Fitzwilliam’s Dublin: Shining a light on a colonial legacy

This critical essay considers how a practice-led approach can be employed to explore a contested architectural legacy in Dublin. John Berger’s and William Kentridge’s writing on how knowledge is arrived at through visual practice underpin the artist’s reflections on his working methods. The critical essay describes the practice of making observational collages on location. Taking the built environment as the site of collective memory, it explores how cycles of colonial violence are reflected in the streetscapes. Finally, it considers how image and text might be developed to unsettle the viewer’s idea of heritage. The essay was written while the project is still in progress and is illustrated throughout by collages made on location.