Ghosts of solid air
Contested Heritage and Augmented Reality in Public Space
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5700286 |
|---|---|
| Authors | R Harrison (0000-0002-5030-0525, University College London, corresponding author), Amy Rose (0000-0003-1597-0301, Watershed, Bristol), Amy D Rose (0000-0001-7226-9357, Watershed), C Sterling (0000-0002-0423-6796, University of Amsterdam) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 425-443 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Heritage Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1352-7258 • E-ISSN: 1470-3610 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13527258.2024.2437367 |
| OpenAlex | W4405199250 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 25 |
This article critically reflects on the design and development of a new Augmented Reality (AR) experience addressing issues of contested heritage in the historic built environment. The experience – Ghosts of Solid Air – is a 45-minute interactive theatrical narrative for mobile phones that tells a critical story about the legacies of colonialism and histories of protest and disobedience that have shaped contemporary Britain. Audiences follow the story from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square in central London, encountering varied contested monuments and activist figures from the past along the route. This article describes the main elements of the experience before tracing the evolution of the project and its relationship to shifting debates on contested heritage in the UK since 2020. We conclude with reflections on the challenges and opportunities of AR when it comes to opening up new modes of heritage engagement, paying particular attention to questions of justice and participation that transcend issues of representation, recognition, and reinterpretation
Aesthetics · Archaeology · Architectural engineering · Art · Augmented reality · Cultural heritage · Human–computer interaction · Linguistics · Media studies · Public space · Sociology · 3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage · Computer Science · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Engineering · History · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Philosophy
The Nutmeg's Curse
After Empire
Heritage
Ghostly Matters
Changing the Narrative on Race and Racism
Critical Encounters with Immersive Storytelling
Designing ‘Critical’ Heritage Experiences
Becoming Hauntologists
Haunted heritage
Understanding heritage in practice
Capital and Empire
The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Western Art
Clarifying the critical in critical heritage studies
Freedom's Debt
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |