THE ARCHIVE OF FORGOTTEN FORMS

AC Larsen, Amy J Wilson, Chaney Manshu Diao, Christina Cushing, Clark Keatley, I.Nakhla, Isabelle Pead, Jingyi Yu, Li Yu, Maggie Menghan Chen, Wenxuan Chen and Yiyang Lu

DUMP presents The Archive of Forgotten Forms, an exhibition that investigates the archive

not as a static repository of the past but as a dynamic and speculative construct—a site

where meaning is continuously reframed across temporal and conceptual boundaries. The

exhibition brings together the launch of DUMP Doom Simulator, a video game set in a

speculative future landscape, with artworks by seven artists exploring the creation and

interpretation of artefacts across various contexts. Whether personal, collective, historical, or

technological, these works interrogate the fragility of material memory, the role of technology

in reimagining preservation, and the evolving cultural narratives that emerge from shifting

contexts.

Alongside the artworks by seven participating artists, DUMP Doom Simulator integrates 46

digital assets scanned from artworks held in DUMP’s storage. These works represent pieces

that artists in London could no longer save due to storage constraints and the pressures of

the living crisis. Set in a speculative future—a desolate world devoid of observable

life—players navigate a landscape that blurs the lines between prehistory and post-

apocalypse. In this imagined planet, the ruins of these artworks are scattered, awaiting

recovery by the players.

DUMP Doom Simulator examines the archive as a construct shaped by acts of preservation,

recovery, and reinterpretation. The project reflects on the shifting value of cultural artefacts

where material records have been eroded, framing preservation as a dynamic rather than

static process. By addressing the ecological concerns of art production and the

environmental cost of archival practices, the work critiques the art world’s entanglement with

systems of excess and scarcity. Amplified by its open-source format, the game democratizes

access to these materials and reimagines ownership as collective and participatory. In doing

so, it transforms the archive into a site of ongoing interaction, re-engagement, and critical

reflection.

This exhibition also marks the culmination of the 3D Preservation Space, a platform

developed by DUMP to explore the potential of 3D digitization and open-source technologies

as tools for preserving material works in a resource-conscious and sustainable manner.

Supported by Arts Council England (ACE), the 3D Preservation Space challenges traditional

notions of the archive, proposing it as an evolving construct that bridges material and digital

practices while addressing the urgency of contemporary cultural preservation.

DUMP Doom Simulator Credit

Lead artists, Creative Director, Concept: DUMP (aka Li Yu and Chaney Manshu Diao)

Game Design and Unreal Development: Yiyang Lu

Game UI/UX and Gameplay Programmer: Jingyi Yu

Original Score by: I. Nakhla

Artwork Digitalisation and Studio reconstruction: Li Yu