Shahram Khosravi

Listening to X-rays

Lokal im Mousonturm

Presentation/Discussion

Since its invention in the late nineteenth century, the penetrating gaze of X-rays has changed our vision of the inside of the human body. This technology was developed during the period of time that was characterised by a demand for total transparency and knowability. Used for medical diagnosis, it soon became a technique for surveillance and policing. Central to policing has been the desire for ‘seeing through’ human beings. In his talk, anthropologist Shahram Khosravi will show what listening to X-ray images can tell us about bordering practices. The ongoing research that he is developing in conversation with a group of artists, activists and scholars in the context of “Bodies, un-protected” will be made accessible in the form of a publication in spring 2023.

Duration: 60 min.
Language: English

Followed by a conversation between Shahram Khosravi, Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme on their works and research on bodies and border practices.