Following the July 22, 2011, Oslo bombing and shootings at the Utøya youth camp Norway became embroiled in a conflict over commemorative ethics. The memorial initially selected in an international contest, Memory Wound by Jonas Dahlgren, drew opposition from victims’ families and local residents for its severe impact on the natural landscape. Plans for installation were cancelled in 2017. This controversy, we submit, must be contextualized in relation to the Norwegian justice system’s handling of Anders Breivik, the perpetrator whose criminal proceedings were kept relatively secluded. We demonstrate how the design of Memory Wound and the suppression of Breivik’s publicity reflect a symbolic logic traceable to a national imaginary of Norwegian exceptionalism. By interpretively aligning the use of negative space in Memory Wound with the muting of Breivik as a media event, we investigate the prescriptive force of symbols to inculcate world views. Specifically, we attend to the foreclosure of “prosthetic memory,” which through media circulation allows people to engage with memory that is not primarily theirs. We acknowledge the possibility of empathy across difference that Landsberg ascribes to prosthetic memory; however, we insist that the circumstances under which solidarity might be rejected must be considered. With a dual case study, we offer a perspective on enduring assumptions about cultural identity and the rise of rightwing extremism in Northern Europe.

2011年7月22日之后，奥斯陆的炸弹和挪威Utøya青年营的枪击事件卷入了纪念道德冲突。该纪念馆最初是在乔纳斯·达尔格伦（Jonas Dahlgren）的国际比赛“记忆伤口”中选定的，受到了受害者家属和当地居民的反对，因为它对自然景观造成了严重影响。安装计划于2017年被取消。我们认为，这一争议必须与挪威司法系统对安德斯·布雷维克（Anders Breivik）的处理有关，而安德斯·布雷维克的犯罪诉讼相对保密。我们演示了记忆伤口的设计以及对布雷维克的公开压制反映了一种象征逻辑，可以追溯到国家对挪威例外主义的想象。通过解释性地调整“记忆伤口”中负空间的使用通过将Breivik屏蔽为媒体事件，我们研究了符号在灌输世界观方面的规范作用。具体来说，我们关注“假肢记忆”的赎回，该假肢记忆通过媒体传播使人们能够参与并非主要是他们的记忆。我们承认，Landsberg归因于假肢记忆的人可能会因同理而产生共鸣。但是，我们坚持认为，必须考虑可能拒绝团结的情况。通过双重案例研究，我们提供了有关文化认同和北欧右翼极端主义兴起的持久假设的观点。