THE LAST MEMORIAL KINDERGARTEN

"The Last Memorial Kindergarden", 2008.

When we talk of a city, it has three histories; the history of its built environment, the history of its people, and the history of their habits. To talk about the past, i.e. the events in a city which should not be forgotten, a monument is inserted into the built environment. I believe that memory is best triggered by a central work, rather than by a network of memorials. The monument should provide a direct visual experience that makes things appear differently to the viewer. In this context observers need not be immediately aware that the monument is in front of them. It is as though you are looking at tissue through a microscope, only to realize later that you were in fact looking at a body.

My proposal questions the concept of the conventional monument. The viewer can be inside the monument without being forced into the awareness of being in a monument. I want to work in a timeless universal format. The children as users of the structure produce the desired monumentality. The monument should not only have a surface and should not only exist as a tourist site. It will provide individuals with the opportunity to contemplate at the same time as it fullfils a social function. Memory should not be quoted in a reliquary but should be expressed as a site of social activity and tolerance.

A Kindergarten is a concept of the future. The monument finds its place according to the needs of the children, the citizens of the future. At night, the kindergarten is silent. When the kindergarten is empty, the silence refers to the absence of the unborn descendants of the victims of National Socialism.

*Excerpts from the presentation of Ebru Özseçen "The Last Memorial Kindergarden" for the competition -Remembering the NS-victims in the public space of the 21st century. New forms of commemoration in Munich"

"The Last Memorial Kindergarden", 2008. Steel, patinated bronze, electro hydro propulsion.