X-Rays – Seeing the Invisible: Art, Evidence and War Crimes
Talk & Workshop
With: Jana Lozanoska
(Visiting Assistant Professor of Human Rights and International Law and Program Head, Al-Quds Bard College for Arts and Sciences, MK/PS)
When: Friday, November 15, 2024, 19:00-21:00
Where: Stadtwerkstatt, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 11/13, 10178 Berlin.
Visiting Berlin, Jana Lozanoska, an Assistant Professor of Human Rights and International Law at Al-Quds Bard College, presents a compelling discussion on the intersection of X-rays, art, and forensic evidence. Her lecture and workshop emphasize the use of X-rays in visual arts and their integral role in investigating and prosecuting human rights abuses, particularly war crimes.
Central to this exploration is the work of Australian photographer and artist Henry Lewis, whose 1990 exhibition Radiography showcases X-rays’ aesthetic and spatial dimensions. The exhibit provokes reflection on their abstract, technical qualities while addressing how X-ray imaging demands expert interpretation to unlock its full meaning—a concept theorized by media scholar Vilém Flusser as “elitist technical images.”
The presentation connects Lewis’s art with the forensic use of X-rays, which gained prominence in historical investigations like those in ex-Yugoslavia during the 1990s. Lozanoska bridges these applications of X-rays by examining their objectivity, representation, and visuality.
By revisiting Henry Lewis’s work and aligning it with groundbreaking investigations, the session underscores the significance of X-ray imagery in understanding both creative expression and the pursuit of justice through innovative forensic practices.
Read more about this talk and workshop here: https://www.artrabbit.com/events/xrays-seeing-the-invisible-art-evidence-and-war-crimes