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Virginia de Diego
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CLEAR THE PATH!
2013–23
Untitled (2014) (from Clear the Path!) (2013–23)
Clear the Path! is a photo-archaeological project about the History – and stories – buried under the sand. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, almost 20 towns were devoured by the dunes of the Neringa peninsula (Lithuania). In less than a generation, the villages were abandoned with no turning back. This work aims to recover that History by finding its places – focused on the city of Nida – through a deep investigation into the geography of the Neringa Peninsula.
The territory where the old Nida is located is a ‘no-trespass area’, so the city and its history remain a mystery under the dune. The only possibility of knowing History is oral tradition and your imagination, following paths and footprints left in the sand.
Those paths that people walk and create are paths that lead to “nowhere”, since now the ancient city of Nida is ‘no man’s land’. Here the photographic part of the project began: I found those roads that lead to ‘nowhere’ (“desire path”, as they are called) in the new city of Nida, obtaining their coordinates. I then translated those coordinates to ancient Nida by moving them 2.5 km south. I took analog photographs – the development is archaeological, the sudden appearance of hidden layers – of both roads in the same direction.
Subsequently, the photographs were printed and placed inside a box, filled with sand and a hole was made in the lower part of the frame: thus the sand began to come out of the box, like an hourglass, erasing its path. the surface of the dune photographic image.
Sand is not only an agent of memory destruction, but also a creative element of a new place.
Untitled (2014) (from Clear the Path!) (2013–23)
Sand sample (2014) (from Clear the Path!) (2013–23)
Untitled (2014) (from Clear the Path!) (2013–23)
Untitled (detail) (2014) (from Clear the Path!) (2013–23)