ABSTRACT

Notions of authenticity underpinning conservation practice have been challenged by artistic and museum practices that contest the mere possibility of singular material existence of objects. These practices work within the liminal, in-between, space some objects currently occupy. But how can conservation conciliate the preservation of an object’s material manifestation, with the ethical need to recognise its other material possibilities? The ethical implications of conserving objects whose existence is contested are discussed. Drawing on feminist theory, it is argued that the path towards a fairer, inclusive, and sustainable conservation practice is dependent on the recognition of difference. The ethical ramifications that emerge from practices of conservation that reflect on performative in-betweenness, here called liminality, are explored. By demonstrating that the act of observation is always contingent, the ways we understand and conserve objects materially change them. How those changes can exclude their material possibilities and their becomings, are discussed. A possible ethical approach to conservation is proposed, that goes beyond modernist views of the object being conserved, recognising the exclusions inherent to any process of conservation, celebrating the diversity of material existences of objects we ought to protect.

摘要

支撑保护实践的真实性概念受到了艺术和博物馆实践的挑战，这些实践质疑物体单一物质存在的可能性。这些实践在一些物体当前占据的临界、中间空间内起作用。但是，保护如何能够调和一个对象的物质表现形式的保存，以及承认其其他物质可能性的伦理需要？讨论了保存存在争议的物体的伦理含义。借鉴女权主义理论，有人认为通往更公平、包容和可持续的保护实践的道路取决于对差异的认识。探讨了反映表演性中间性（这里称为阈限）的保护实践所产生的伦理后果。通过证明观察行为始终是偶然的，我们理解和保存物体的方式从本质上改变了它们。这些变化如何排除它们的物质可能性和它们的成为，被讨论。提出了一种可能的保护伦理方法，它超越了现代主义对被保护物体的看法，承认任何保护过程固有的排除，庆祝我们应该保护的物体的物质存在的多样性。