Iterating archival footage and the memory of war

In this article I focus on the archive as a specific site of memory, in particular the audiovisual archive. I investigate the use of audiovisual archival records as sources for remembering war, specifically the war in the former Yugoslavia (1991-1995). I do so by discussing one particular case study, the two-channel video installation Raw Footage (2006) by the Dutch artist Aernout Mik. In this work, Mik presents a selection of unused, unedited news footage from the archives of press agencies Reuters and ITN - literally "raw footage." Mik selected, compiled and staged this material in an installation that present us with a different perspective on that conflict, a view on the war in the former Yugoslavia that we literally have not seen before. My discussion of this example aims to show that the reuse of audiovisual archival material in artistic work can be a means to move the public memory of war in new and unexpected directions. By extension, I argue that keeping track of such iterations of archival footage is crucial for a proper understanding of the different ways in which we remember the past.