Navigating Loss: Interactive Documentary as a Tool for Understanding and Communicating Heritage Loss on the Coast

Abstract

From compact harbours sheltering sandy coves to formidable castle fortresses towering over busy water ways, there is a wealth of history woven into the coastal landscape. Heritage assets appear all along the coastline and tangibly connect present day communities not only with the past, but also -- through the act of protection and preservation -- to the future (Smith, 2006; Harrison, 2013). However the coast has always been, and will continue to be, a dynamic environment characterised by change, a process which will only become more prevalent as the effects of climate change are increasingly felt (Croft, 2013; Murphy, 2014; Fluck, 2016). Though the loss of coastal heritage is not something that can (or, arguably, should) be avoided altogether, managing coastal heritage effectively has proved to be a challenge, especially with regard to sites undergoing some form of transformation, decline or eventual loss (Kobiałka, 2014; Harvey and Perry, 2015; Holtorf and Kristensen, 2015; DeSilvey, 2017; DeSilvey et al., 2021). This thesis introduces innovative tools and methods which have been created specifically to aid heritage practitioners in the management of sites undergoing some form of loss or change on the coast. It discusses the design of a new engagement model, the C-SHELL, intended to give practical guidance on the implementation of these methods. It presents the stages of a doctoral project which, firstly, developed a framework (Articulating Loss) to break down what coastal heritage loss means for sites and the people who care for them. The framework identified into four overlapping themes-- invisible loss, adaptive loss, inevitable loss and radical loss -- each with their own distinct challenges and opportunities (Venture et al. 2021). This framework then formed the basis for the creation of the Visualising Loss (2022) interactive documentary (i-doc) featuring interviews with 42 participants, who represented both practitioners and interested community members from four case study sites around the South-West coast, each undergoing a different form of coastal heritage loss. The dissemination of the i-doc was followed by a 6-month evaluative process demonstrating the effectiveness and potential of this novel methodological approach, which is grounded in metamodern principles encouraging participatory practice, internal narrative creation and self-reflection (Aston, 2001; Aston and Gaudenzi, 2012; Gaudenzi, 2014; Alkarimeh and Boutin, 2017; Aston, et al., 2017; Aston and Odorico, 2018). Navigating loss will require creative tools which encourage inclusive action to better understand and therefore communicate what loss does and, more importantly, can mean for heritage sites on an ever-changing coast.