Issue 45 Erasing the Archive

Hello!

I've always been a total nerd about my work setup. I have custom-made rubber stamps for my notebooks and treat pencils like cult objects. Most days I work at a standing desk for hours. And that desk is not really a desk, but a bar table that my mother made out of a tree. The desk/tree is not the only unusual thing about my workspace. I also use a keyboard that is split into two parts. So, when the company that makes that nerdy keyboard got in touch to ask if they could profile me, of course I said yes.

When preparing for the profile, I checked out the other folks they'd profiled -- and you should also at the link I'm about to give you. It's fascinating how people work, what they use to work, and where they work. Have a look at my work set up and check out some others.

A while back, I read a story by Julieta Singh called No Archive Will Restore You. Part essay, part memoir, it was a meditation on memory, self, and how we project our history onto our body. I began to wonder what would happen if the archive were erased, bit by bit. The archive is not the past. It is the instrument that determines the future. I have an essay about that for you, and here it is.