Abstract
This thesis examines the ways in which Joe Sacco’s representations of maps and of the built environment in his graphic narratives Safe Area Goražde (2000) and Footnotes in Gaza (2009), function as material witnesses which testify to human rights violations. In his narratives, Sacco has included a vast amount of information about space and architecture which constitute important parts of the surrounding geographical and historical contexts of both eyewitnesses’ and his own recollections of past events. Based on Eyal Weizman’s work on forensic architecture, and the idea of how things should not be regarded as static pieces of evidences in war crime investigations, but that they rather have dynamic qualities due to the various ways in which they are constructed, interpreted and used, I will investigate how Sacco’s portrayals speak to the readers and provide testimony of past atrocities. By using our skills and knowledge of reading comics, we as readers are the necessary interpreters of what Sacco’s representations testifies to. I will argue that his particular style and methods of organization make his portrayals stand out as powerful representations which persuasively convey information of the consequences the usage of maps and the destruction of houses have on the people who live within areas of conflict. Through analyses of Sacco’s stylistic and organizational techniques, I will investigate how the material witnesses provide testimonies which complement the testimonies given by the human witnesses in his works, and I will argue that they should be understood as critical comments on how objects are used in cases regarding human rights violations.