%0 Journal Article 
%A Pogossian, Tatiana
%T Dislocations and ecologies. The disruption of the urban experience of London in Peter Ackroyd, Iain Sinclair and Gilbert & George
%D 2011
%U http://hdl.handle.net/10017/20493
%X London exerts attraction and repulsion upon travellers, writers and artists alike. 
Its past is overshadowed by the never-ending process of change, yet a close 
investigation helps unveiling hidden parts of a collective memory. Peter 
Ackroyd, Iain Sinclair and Gilbert & George have explored the memory of 
London through the prism of cultural studies, psychogeography or 
contemporary art. London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd, Lights Out for the 
Territory, London Orbital by Iain Sinclair and the 20 London E 1 Pictures by 
Gilbert & George may serve as a basis for retrieving fragile realms of memory. 
We may wonder whether these realms cannot be likened to « ecology of 
knowledge ». If ecology designates an environment regulated by specific rules 
and mechanisms, what do “ecologies of knowledge” refer to in the urban 
context? Besides, the nature of the relationship between the experience of 
London and the ecology of knowledge prompts questions. Does the experience 
of London dislocate the artistic universes created by Peter Ackroyd, Iain Sinclair 
and Gilbert & George? Or do the artistic works partake in the dislocation of 
urban experience? My contention in this paper is to unveil the ways in which 
the polymorphism of the city is translated into writerly and iconographic codes. 
As the understanding of the urban ecology keeps receding, similarly the works 
adopt process and metamorphosis as structuring principles. First, the 
destabilising exploration of London shall be assessed by its impact upon the 
physical experience, and the renegotiation of concepts such as body, 
empiricism, and the spirit of the place. Then, the frustrating exploration of 
London may be analysed through literary and artistic devices that echo the 
dislocation in the works. Eventually, these works will lead us to consider the dis-membering of the city body as the only means to the re-membering of London.

%K Literatura
%K Literature
%K Medio ambiente
%K Environmental science
%~ Biblioteca Universidad de Alcala