KOKN - 2005 - Competition for a memorial to the victims of dictatorial oppression, Koknese, Latvia

(DIS)APPEARING ISLAND

(dis)appearance: Dig away a part of the island until just below the level of the Dagauva river, as a metaphor of the vanished Latvians, yet still present in our memories.

The two remaining parts of the island, stay completely untouched, even if they are essentially changed by the intervention. Although partly wiped away, the island is still perceived as a whole because of the arbitrary linear character of the cuts, and because the vanished part is only covered by shallow waters.

This perception of the island as a whole is very important and results in an even clearer feeling of a dramatic loss of the missing part.

The river is given a major role, influencing the way the memorial looks like according to the different seasons, and the height of the water level. The very voluntarist intervention can actually accentuate the beauty of the natural context.