At the end of history: art practices in times and spaces of modern ruination
At the end of history: art practices in times and spaces of modern ruination
This chapter explores contemporary art practices that engage with the post-socialist condition, focusing on how artists from Eastern Europe revisit the material and immaterial remnants of socialism to critique both past ideologies and present neoliberal realities. Through the analysis of works by Armando Lulaj, Uriel Orlow, Irina Botea, and Marta Popivoda, the chapter examines how art can activate memory and affect to challenge dominant historical narratives and generate new imaginaries of the future. Drawing on theoretical concepts such as Walter Benjamin’s ‘now-time’ and Svetlana Boym’s ‘off-modernism,’ it argues that remembering the socialist past is not merely nostalgic but a crucial political act for rethinking the present condition. These art practices confront the unresolved traumas, despair, and lost utopias of state socialism while also critiquing the precarities of neoliberalism. Ultimately, the chapter proposes that the post-socialist condition extends beyond geographical borders, offering a framework for addressing contemporary experiences of inequality, loss, and hope in the global capitalist world.
postsocialism, now-time, collective memory, ruins, modernity, Affect, transition, Futurity
Gkitsa, Dimitra
56cef9a1-10c4-4c8a-978b-51139c04fc74
14 October 2025
Gkitsa, Dimitra
56cef9a1-10c4-4c8a-978b-51139c04fc74
Gkitsa, Dimitra
(2025)
At the end of history: art practices in times and spaces of modern ruination.
In,
Wagner, Johanna M., Duckworth, Melanie and Benjamin, Deanna
(eds.)
Narratives of Hope and Despair: Ruin and Regeneration in Literature and Culture.
1 ed.
Routledge.
(doi:10.4324/9781003656692-12).
Record type:
Book Section
Abstract
This chapter explores contemporary art practices that engage with the post-socialist condition, focusing on how artists from Eastern Europe revisit the material and immaterial remnants of socialism to critique both past ideologies and present neoliberal realities. Through the analysis of works by Armando Lulaj, Uriel Orlow, Irina Botea, and Marta Popivoda, the chapter examines how art can activate memory and affect to challenge dominant historical narratives and generate new imaginaries of the future. Drawing on theoretical concepts such as Walter Benjamin’s ‘now-time’ and Svetlana Boym’s ‘off-modernism,’ it argues that remembering the socialist past is not merely nostalgic but a crucial political act for rethinking the present condition. These art practices confront the unresolved traumas, despair, and lost utopias of state socialism while also critiquing the precarities of neoliberalism. Ultimately, the chapter proposes that the post-socialist condition extends beyond geographical borders, offering a framework for addressing contemporary experiences of inequality, loss, and hope in the global capitalist world.
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Accepted/In Press date: 26 May 2025
Published date: 14 October 2025
Keywords:
postsocialism, now-time, collective memory, ruins, modernity, Affect, transition, Futurity
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 502904
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/502904
PURE UUID: 5e64bfbf-0cec-4921-9265-47a82cf03a0e
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Date deposited: 11 Jul 2025 16:51
Last modified: 20 Sep 2025 02:24
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Contributors
Author:
Dimitra Gkitsa
Editor:
Johanna M. Wagner
Editor:
Melanie Duckworth
Editor:
Deanna Benjamin
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