Archaeological Evidence of Modern Material Culture

The project presents a fictional reinterpretation of contemporary objects as the remaining traces of our culture. Replacing original functions with esoteric significance, the objects are transformed into a collection of unknown ancient artefacts.

Archaeological Evidence of Modern Material Culture or AEMMC is a fictional examination of the potential archaeological interpretations of contemporary objects. By finding, curating and photographing a range of items, the project presents material possessions and equipment as the lasting evidence of our current culture. AEMMC playfully undermines our understanding of the objects in our home or place of work. It encourages its viewers to observe their surroundings and attempt to interpret how it may appear to future archaeologists. This observation additionally comes with the subtle call to reflect on our patterns of consumption and the appreciation for our possessions.

The project is inspired both visually and conceptually by archaeological texts, surveys and publications from the 1950s to the 1970s. By taking the visual and textual properties of these sources, I modelled both commonly found and specialised objects as the material evidence which informed a fictional archaeological and anthropological understanding of our cultural period. The book presents our culture as both a predefined and emerging archaeological area of study, using our objects as the only evidence of our society, which the fictional researchers use to create an understanding of, yet subsequently misinterpret. By drawing inspiration from these sources, I was intrigued by the language used to describe objects which have been excavated and how they were used to illustrate a particular period and its cultural and societal structures. I was most notably interested in how information was given about certain objects, from location, material, size, estimated age and hypothesised usage or meaning. Through this interest, I found that a tension existed between how much information could be determined from an object, such as its material or physical properties, versus how much of the importance and value of the object there was to the people to whom it was attributed. This tension served as one of the main driving forces behind the project’s conceptual framework. 

As stated before, the project’s framework is one of fiction, including the introduction text and the information given about each object’s classification. The tone of the text is used as an initial guide for viewers, as it positions itself as both the voice of deep understanding and broad authority over this particular period of archaeological inquiry. Yet, the text does not seek to provide a clear answer or definition for each object. Rather, the knowledgeable tone is used as a method of uncoupling the viewer from looking at objects that they have seen before, to looking at archaeological artefacts, shrouded in the unknown, whose use and importance have been lost to history. To further develop this aspect within the project, I created three classifications: Idols, Vessels and Tools. Each term is purposefully multivocal, allowing for a wide range of objects to fit within each classification quite comfortably without being too obvious or too convoluted. These classifications are an additional driver of the project's attempt to detach the viewer's preconceived understanding of the objects. The broadness of each category provides space for speculation, not only for what each classification title means, but how each object fits into it.

The project’s play between truth and fiction follows a long path of other truthfully ambiguous projects, such as Joan Fontcuberta’s Stranger Than Fiction and Walid Raad’s The Atlas Group. These projects not only served as a source of inspiration but also provided a space for AEMMC to occupy conceptually. However, I was very aware that operating in the realm of fiction had the potential to become too humorous or absurd. As such, I wanted to infuse subtle yet relevant contextual factors of our contemporary culture. I carefully presented the re-interpretations of the objects as being informed by a wider interpretation of consumer culture and contemporary capitalism; terms and structures that are no longer evident or applicable to the “authors” of the book. These re-interpretations of the objects and the culture are based on answers to a set of questions, such as why there are so many objects, why they are made of these particular materials, and what these objects were used for. By having the answer’s to these questions at the forefront of the book’s text, paired with the item's description and the book's index system, it allows for that tension of the vagueness of the classification and the specificity of the object's information to be present without being a clear critique or a gag. Therefore, the project does not attempt to rid itself of its humorous qualities, nor does it seek to be a binary critique of contemporary culture; rather, it weaves between the absurd and the real. 

AEMMC encourages its viewers to engage with its objects, to imagine how they may be found and interpreted as archaeological artefacts, whilst subtly reminding them that what they are looking at will inevitably become the artefacts of our era. The project is aimed at encouraging reflection on one's material possessions, on their understanding of their surroundings and on their place in a history yet to come.