Jean-Yves Jouannais explores ruins as natural history in 'L'Usage des ruines'

In 'L'Usage des ruines', Jean-Yves Jouannais, former editor-in-chief of art press (1991-1999), presents an unconventional conception of literature tied to his ongoing 'Encyclopédie des guerres' lectures. He claims he is not the true author of his earlier book 'Artistes sans œuvres', having exchanged it with Enrique Vila-Matas fifteen years ago. The book examines ruins not from political or strategic angles but as elements of natural history, influenced by W.G. Sebald's 'On the Natural History of Destruction'. Jouannais seeks to inhabit ruins through reading, becoming a fictional character who suffers from 'obsidional fevers'—pathologies of besieged populations. He discusses Albert Speer's architecture designed for ruin, noting that after WWII the Allies buried Teufelsberg to thwart Speer's vision. The book includes a story from 4th century BCE China where the city of Luoyping was dismantled by its own inhabitants, causing an army to lift its siege. The work is philosophical, exploring how obsession besieges the mind and how ruins function in collective memory.