Revisiting the Stereoscopic Archive as a Memory Recalling Device

The article unfolds the process of Stereo Nostalgia and Telematic Rides Along the Caribbean, an artistic research project that analyses a stereoscopic 3D tour made by the American company Underwood & Underwood in Colombia at the beginning of the 20th century. The project displays particular aspects of stereoscopy’s visual experience on archival material, recalling the colonial memory of the place. Through video footage and recorded interviews, the project narrates the experience of exploring the places photographed, interacting with the current inhabitants to whom the archival images are introduced in 3D. When presenting the stereoscopic experience to the people from Barranquilla, memories about the urban development of the city, concerns about its heritage and nostalgia of a golden economic era are triggered. The exercise of unfolding the visual memory through a tactile like experience gained through the technique, engaged the viewers in a particular way of experiencing collective memory.