‘Burning memory’ is an exhibition by photographer Willy Del Zoppo. As a teacher, he visited Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp ten times. Each time he returned, he took a series of photographs. And each time, his visit triggered a profound reflection on the importance of remembering the Shoah and how ‘memory’ works:
- Can we stop the fading of memory?
- Does mass tourism undermine the memorial function of Auschwitz-Birkenau?
With the rise of digital photography, few people see their images in print anymore, causing an important means of transmission of memories within families and society to become lost.
‘Burning memory’ reflects on all these meanings of ‘disappearance’. In his creative process, Del Zoppo exposed the photographic paper to fire, mounting the burnt photos on a sheet of white paper along with the ashes. The white surface thus becomes the symbol of a memory, coloured by ashes. The ashes that are also associated with the Shoah…