Facial practices

This chapter investigates the role of facial practices in memorialisation within urban spaces by examining both institutional and vernacular approaches. It adopts a semiotic and cultural-geographical perspective, moving beyond traditional textual analyses to focus on how everyday practices imbue public spaces with meaning. Institutional memorial practices are explored through state-sanctioned rituals such as funerals, national commemorations and official ceremonies, where faces are deployed to convey collective identity and political authority. In contrast, vernacular practices – ranging from grassroots commemorations to protest actions – reappropriate facial imagery as a means to challenge or reinterpret dominant narratives. Through various case studies, this chapter illustrates how faces function as dynamic symbols that shape memory, identity and social cohesion, while also reflecting broader cultural, political and economic forces. Furthermore, it discusses how digital technologies are blurring the boundaries between institutional and vernacular practices, fostering participatory and ephemeral forms of remembrance. Ultimately, this chapter demonstrates that facial practices are integral to the negotiation of public memory, serving as powerful interfaces between individual identity and collective cultural narratives.