Archives
The heart and soul of Future Archaeologies reside in its archives, and the bureaus play the pivotal role of custodians. Entrusted with this monumental responsibility, each bureau safeguards the organisation's triad of primary archives:
Possibilities Archive felem semper plus quam felem
A meticulously curated collection of avant-garde localised concepts. The breadth and depth of this collection are dynamically scaled based on the bureau's spatial resources.
An all-encompassing register that chronicles actualised exhibitions, accompanied by their detailed catalogues, serving as a testament to the organisation's achievements.
Artistic renderings of concepts, intricately designed to offer a visual narrative, bridging imagination with reality.
Transmissions Archive ipsum murmur ambiguitatis
A vast reservoir of Transmissions, each capturing the unique essence of a myriad of projects, preserving their spirit for posterity.
An eclectic medley of Missives, ranging from written narratives to public podcasts, each offering multi-dimensional insights, enriching the understanding of the audience.
Temporal Archive ars longa, vita brevis
An exhaustive documentation repository dedicated to temporal projects. Each document meticulously chronicles the project's journey, from its nascent stages to its culmination.
Specialised Transmissions, each tailored for a specific temporal project, crafted to provide a nuanced understanding, adding layers of depth to the narrative.
Far from being secluded sanctuaries, these archives are designed to be shared. They are open to the public, exclusively through the bureau sites. This strategic decision transforms each bureau into a pulsating hub of dialogue and discovery. It fosters a sense of community, camaraderie, and collective enlightenment, ensuring that knowledge is not just preserved but proliferated.
Material Archiving
Digital storage mediums, while revolutionary, are bound by their technological lifespan. Software obsolescence, hardware failures, and evolving data formats can render digital archives inaccessible over time. It is said that we have never recorded as much documentation as we do now, though by equal measure we have never lost as much as we do at present. The digital medium is a transient one and while susceptible to outside interventions, its longevity is cut short by ever developing formats and access systems, rendering the new outdated in less than a decade. Material archiving transcends these limitations. Acrylic film, for instance, boasts a longevity that digital mediums cannot match. It remains unaffected by technological advancements, ensuring that the content it holds remains accessible, unaltered, and authentic, regardless of how technology evolves. In an age where cyber threats loom large, digital archives are perpetually at risk. Sophisticated hacking techniques can alter, corrupt, or even erase digital content. However, a material archive stands immune to such threats. It offers an unhackable sanctuary, ensuring the content's authenticity and integrity remain unscathed. This security extends beyond just preservation. For the subjects of the Transmissions, it provides a safe space, a haven where they can express themselves freely, without the looming shadow of potential cyber threats. They can communicate their insights, wisdom, and perspectives without fearing repercussions or reactions in their lifetime, ensuring the purity of their message for future audiences.
The Carrington Event, which occurred in 1859, stands as a potent testament to the unpredictable and formidable forces of nature. Named after Richard Carrington, the astronomer who first observed this intense geomagnetic storm, the event had profound effects on the telegraph systems of the era, causing widespread disruptions and even sparking fires in some telegraph offices. The sun unleashed a colossal burst of solar wind and magnetic fields, which, upon reaching Earth, triggered one of the most significant geomagnetic storms on record. That its effect made Auroras visible in the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Australia is a testament to its global reach. In today's interconnected and digitally-dependent world, the repercussions of a similar event could be exponentially more catastrophic. Modern infrastructure, from power grids to communication networks, is intricately linked and heavily reliant on electronic systems. A Carrington-like event in the present day could lead to widespread power outages, disrupt satellite communications, and critically, cause irreversible damage to digital data storage systems. The loss of digital archives would mean the erasure of invaluable knowledge, insights, and cultural records, potentially setting back human progress by decades, if not centuries. This should be seen in the perspective that a similar event missed earth by 6 days in 2012 and that evidence of historical events much greater than the Carrington Event has been discovered, such as a 775-776 event of ten times the magnitude evidenced by c-14 tests of ice and tree cores.
While Future Archaeologies acknowledges that the example of a Carrington Event is an extreme one, it is a relevant lens through which to recognise the profound risk posed by such natural phenomena. By opting for material archiving, the organisation is taking a proactive stance, ensuring that the Transmissions are shielded from the unpredictable whims of nature. Acrylic film, with its impressive longevity and resilience, offers a robust medium that remains unaffected by geomagnetic disruptions. In essence, the choice to archive in material form is not just about preservation; it's about ensuring that the wisdom, insights, and perspectives encapsulated in the Transmissions are passed down undistorted and intact, serving as a bridge between generations, irrespective of nature's challenges.In essence, decision to adopt material archiving is a testament to its foresight and commitment to preservation. Whether guarding against nature's unpredictability, cyber threats, or the march of technology, Future Archaeologies' material archive ensures that it’s archival contents remain a beacon of knowledge and insight, as well as a platform for potential production for countless generations to come.