Performances of Memory in the “New Normal” – Commemorations without Bodies in Action

Abstract

Commemorations as site-specific performances are dependent on time-limited interaction of bodies that create space for manifestation of memory. As social practices they have a goal of formulating a living memory of the past that can shape the future based on the lesson learned. The need for establishing controlled interactions was recognized as a crucial reference point for deeper understanding of these practices and their short- and long-term consequences. Therefore, the question can be asked if these performances can occur if the bodies in interaction are not present within the earlier defined performance sites and timeframes? Since March 2020 within the framework of “new normal” we have witnessed a change towards interactions within public space, which demands new forms of mandatory social distance between the appearing bodies. This paper analyses possibilities of collective part taking in spatial practices of commemoration without being physically present. Through selected examples of events taking place in Serbia and in Europe during the ear of the “new normal”, the faith of spaces, practices, and narratives of memory without bodies in action being present at same site and at the same time, will be investigated.