“You walk the earth you are forgetting.”
In the ancient art of memory (ars memoriae), a set of techniques (mnemotechnics) are used to aid acts of remembering and inspire reflection on the importance thereof. The lethatechnique focuses on Lethe instead of Mnemosyne and asks, if there is an art of memory, can there be an art of forgetting (ars oblivionis)? And if there are techniques for remembering, can there be techniques for forgetting (lethatechnics)?
The lethatechnique is an approach to documenting the presence of absence in images, writing, and music. By seeking to reconcile the positive and negative qualities of forgetting, the lethatechnique does not outline an escape or devalue remembrance. Instead, it provides ways to challenge limitations, actively unlearn what is not useful, and seize creative opportunities before they are lost. The lethatechnique describes forgetting by encouraging mindfulness and non-attachment and building upon what has been forgotten, overlooked, or underestimated. And the lethatechnique still remembers, expressing and materializing important recollections that are fading.
Many thinkers have influenced the lethatechnique as defined here, including Paul Ricouer, Harald Weinrich, Umberto Eco, Nietzsche, W.G. Sebald, Shunryū Suzuki, Chris Marker, and Czesław Miłosz.