NOMIS Lecture – Do-it-Yourself Universe: Material Lives of Soviet-era Family Photographs in Russia

The talk explores the trajectories of Soviet-era domestic photographs, embroiled in efforts to pin down the contested memory of socialism in the 21st century. These analogue photographs, originally intended to celebrate memorable activities and forms of collective membership, today help to reimagine the past in response to the available genres and modalities of historical narration. The generations that take possession of the family archives can renegotiate the notions of “banal” and “historical.” They are aided in this by materiality and mimetic excess of their family photographs, which help provide the space for multiple reinterpretations.

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