Sewing machine posed in a ruined house at Oradour-sur-Glane
Sewing machine posed in a ruined house
This rusty sewing machine has obviously been posed on the shelf inside one of the houses on the Rue Emile Desourteaux, but it does convey the idea of a frozen-in-time tragedy. As time goes by, more and more of the original artefacts will decay into rust and dust and need replacing. This replacement process will inevitably mean that some day there will be nothing original left and all exhibits will have to be in the spirit of the original rather than being the real thing. For a detailed examination of the memorial process and all that it entails, read Sarah Farmer's book "Martyred Village", this is by far the best treatment that I have read on the subject of remembering the past: see Bibliography.
© Michael Williams: revised July 2007