The Rule of Superposition (a basic axiom used in the science of geology) subverts the violent use of the practice of archaeology in Jerusalem by mapping surfaces, relying on memory and spirit, and taking viewers beneath the surface of the city to distort time and space.

By shifting perspective, the Rule of Superposition (old on bottom, new on top) and the assumed modern temporal grid of linear time are questioned.

The mapped surfaces rethink the city as a homogeneous object and reveal a heterogeneous network, a fabric of traces that questions scientific processes and problematises the singular surface narratives constructed and censored by agencies of power. The traces are used as an access point to an alternative understanding of Jerusalem through its tactile ground. These traces, shown on the bottom surface, reveal a personal and emotional record of the city that relies on memory and spirit rather than scientific method.

Archaeological ruins and monuments are rendered as recombined and reconfigured artefacts to disorient and distort archaeological practice, thereby turning the “truth” on its head. The work reveals by tracing and excavating the ground of Jerusalem. The pure cartography presented on top acts purely as a blanket covering, or censoring, of what lies beneath the ground. The installation brings the viewers from the aerial perspective of the enlightenment to the levels of the subterranean as an act of excavation in itself.