A palimpsest is a surface where past layers remain faintly visible beneath the present, whispering of what came before. It is a living document; erased and rewritten, but never fully devoid of its history. This layered richness captures the essence of transformation, continuity and the stories that persist despite the relentless tide of time. This week's stories are a palimpsest of narratives, identities and ideas, where the past's traces are not merely remnants but active participants, shaping the stories we tell today.

Each narrative reveals how history is never static; always in conversation with the present, always transforming. The hybrid 'science fiction documentaries' featured in artist and filmmaker Stephanie Comilang's exhibition at CARA, NY, reveal how migration inscribes itself into geographies and lives, layering realities over histories. In an interview, Elizabeth Diller and David Allin of DS+R, and Tim Reeve of V&A reflect on how the new V&A East Storehouse in London rethinks the museum archetype: as a cabinet of curiosities, laid bare.

Tomaso Binga's feminist art dismantles the constructs of language, exposing patriarchal underpinnings and rewriting them with defiance and wit at the Madre Museum in Naples. Similarly, photographer Edmund Sumner explores Mexican architecture in his book, 'Casa Mexicana', which reflects a dialogue between indigenous craftsmanship, colonial pasts and contemporary innovation, where each structure holds traces of its cultural lineage. Further, Zurich-based Studio Eidola reimagines industrial by-products, translating forgotten material memories of waste into designs that challenge our perceptions of permanence, value and resources.

These stories remind us that nothing is truly erased. In every piece of art, performance or building, traces of the past linger, shaping the present and offering insights into the future. What layers do you see in your world? What hidden histories are waiting to be uncovered?