Griffith Review 83: Past Perfect

The past, famously, is a foreign country - but in the twenty-first century, it's one in which we increasingly seek solace. No matter the relentless pace of technological innovation and the digitisation of everything from money to media our appetites for retro design and aesthetics, for cultural products that reimagine technicolour-dream versions of decades gone by, or for fantasies of a past golden political age are ever on the rise. But what fuels this love affair with recycling our history? Wh