„This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face is turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe that keeps piling ruin upon ruin and hurls it in front of his feet.” (Walter Benjamin)
Structures, stones, and their inscriptions have long been landmarks for the geographical, spiritual and intellectual orientation of local inhabitants and travellers alike.
Many historical ruins have become must sees and symbols of the tourism industry. Individuals lost in the masses tend to perpetuate themselves in the stones. They are trying to confirm their existence. It is like an attempt to be seen in the dust of the rubble, to discover oneself among thousands of others. The probability of finding one’s name years later in that one same place is very small. But the knowledge that a trace of oneself is attached to something permanent as an addition to a long-lasting memory store is reassuring – a phenomenon that transcends cultures.
The project follows an open concept. Neither is there a fixed selection of cultural sites to be visited, nor do the walls have to be ennobled as cultural sites. In the case of listed monuments, some tough negotiations with the authorities are an integral part of the project.