Digital Mnemonic Landscape / Web, VR

Huu:’ is a virtual mnemonic landscape based on personal histories of 22 survivors of sexual violence in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992-1995 and the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994. The voices of these women and men inhabit an archipelago of floating islands, where each ecosystem reveals particular memories of a certain participant, in their journey from trauma to healing. We travel through these islands as wind, creating subtle gestures over waters and plant species – unveiling the documentary audio-recordings. As an intersection between ecological and personal memories, this project creates a safe space for survivors to tell their stories, giving them a chance to speak up about experiences which oftentimes remain taboo in their local societies. Huu: makes it possible for participants from geographically distant war and genocide-torn countries to unite in a virtual space and co-create a healing archipelago.

Artist: Smirna Kulenovic
Design Assistant: Christina Zhang
Audio Design: Vahid Qaderi
Technical Support: Nada

Justice for Women (Netherlands)
Impact: Center against Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence in Conflict (Netherlands)
Medica Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Solace Ministries (Rwanda)
KUMA International
PureWeb

Yale University ( Yale College, Yale School of Architecture, and Yale CCAM)
ARS Electronica Center and Festival and Ars Electronica Deep Space 8K
University of Arts and Design Linz, Austria (Interface Cultures Department)