Memorial meshwork: The making of the commemorative space of the Hyde Park 7/7 Memorial

Abstract

How do memorials act to transmit memory through the organization of space? In this article, we contrast a ‘preservation’ model of the endurance of encoded memory with a ‘meshwork’ model which treats memory as emergent on the perdurance of the memorial site. Developing a theoretical framework from Tim Ingold’s work, we describe how memorialization receives its spatial form through a collective work of braiding together multiple threads of activities and material flows. To illustrate, we examine the spatial and temporal organization of the Hyde Park 7/7 memorial from its initial designs, through to installation and contemporary use. We draw on interview data featuring various stakeholders in the 7/7 memorial project to analyse the relationship between memorial space and material relations. We develop an approach to organizational space as an unfinished meshwork that folds together wanted and unwanted memory, making the historical a matter of ongoing live concern but with the absence of a permanent guiding narrative.