tan wang-ward

Archive of Weird Memories is an evolving display of works by artist Tan Wang-

Ward, developed during an ongoing residency at the Tower Hamlets Local History

Library & Archives. The project takes its name from a 1934 article in the Daily

Sketch—the national tabloid newspaper—about Limehouse Causeway, and centres

on archival materials related to Limehouse—a district steeped in maritime heritage,

sailors’ communities, and cycles of urban transformation.

 

The project investigates the tensions between myth and fact, memory and erasure.

Drawing from archival photographs, trade directories, and historical survey maps,

Tan explores the contradictions and complexities embedded in Limehouse’s layered

past. Her work reimagines lost or transformed sites—including London’s first

Chinatown and the legendary Charlie Brown’s pub—through speculative

reconstructions positioned at their original locations. These reconstructions are

created using locally run generative AI models—including Stable Diffusion XL and

Flux.1 Dev—in a process that fuses emerging technology with historical inquiry. By

animating fragments from black-and-white archival images, Tan builds a fictional

yet resonant space. The past reasserts itself into the present, disrupting the urban

landscape and opening pathways to alternative futures rooted in marginalised or

forgotten narratives.

 

Archive of Weird Memories is an ongoing endeavour. New reconstructions and

experimental works will be added over time, alongside public engagement

activities.