(Photo by Kai Widell)
Muistojen arkisto (The Archive of Memories) is a larp created by Juhana Pettersson, Katri Lassila & Antti Kanner.
Date: 24. – 25. 3. 2012
Location: Vanha ylioppilastalo, Helsinki, Finland
Players: 6
Duration: 3 hours
Produced by Pohjoismaisen roolipelaamisen seura for the art festival IHME-päivät
Description
A small larp about memory, Muistojen arkisto explored the idea of archives and how they could be manipulated to create new concepts of history. Set in two time periods, in one the characters attempt to manipulate the contents of the archive and in the other they try to make sense of history based on the materials they find.
Artistic Statement
The theme of the larp came from the art festival who commissioned it. They wished to have a game on the subject of archives, and we immediately transformed that into the unreliability of archives and history in general.
The game played on Finnish history and the period of the presidency of Urho Kaleva Kekkonen. A time of autocratic secrecy and strange dealings with the Soviet Union and other East-Bloc countries, it provided ample material for our theme.
The idea was that a Finnish foreign ministry official might or might not have leaked material to the DDR. Information about the incident was buried in a closed archive, set to be opened only after forty years. That time is now, and a commission is trying to establish what really happened.
The characters represent various interests, and nobody is really neutral. In the end, everything points to the fundamental unknowability of history. We can only make assesments based on what we know, and how we determine our sources to be biased.
Documentation
Photos from the workshop and the game by Kai Widell.
In-game documents
