Museum of the Moving Image: “Overexposed: Art, Technology, and the Body”

 

By Miles Westrich

Etienne-Jules Marey’s Selected Chronophotographic Films (1891-1900) greet viewers at the entrance of “Overexposed: Art, Technology, and the Body”, an exhibition currently on display at the Museum of the Moving Image. The French physiologist’s work documents how the development of late 19th-century motion recording technology was used by scientists and artists to expand our vision and understanding of the body. Through a unique curation of artists and artworks, this show walks viewers through the dynamic relationship between medical science and the arts. In Barbara Hammer's piece Sanctus (1990), the artist uses innovative filmmaking techniques to edit and manipulate James Sibley Watson Jr.’s X-ray archives. Thus, she comments on the health implications of X-ray technology via her artistic practice. 

The three-channel video installation Opera Medica (2025) by Agnes Questionmark showcases the artist as a doctor performing surgery on an alien-like transhuman figure, reflecting her personal experience with gender-corrective surgery. The theatricalized performance acts as a vehicle for regaining agency as a patient and explores themes of liberation from the medical system. Investigating diverse and adversarial experiences with healthcare is a key throughline among many works in this show. By drawing on the multifaceted histories of Western medicine, a wide range of archival material and self-critical contemporary artwork resonates with said subject matter. This led to the show being over-curated at times, with back-to-back installations crowding the exhibition space. Despite this oversaturation in quantity, the collection’s quality was strong, with each artwork contributing significant insight on the thesis of the exhibition.