Rachel Whiteread and public art: the monument as a place of memory

Abstract

The monument as a category of work of art has existed for centuries, having different purposes and degrees of representation and meaning. There are some monuments, especially those located in the public space, which are planned and designed exactly with the place where they will be installed, talking in situ and directly with all around, being impossible to be relocated. This article will deal with two of them, authored by artist Rachel Whiteread, with Pierre Nora's theory of places of memory as a premise for understanding his works. These are works that cross the areas of memory, time and art. It also deals with how the monument can be a place that narrates the various memories and pasts in a critical and political way.