Lara Reichmann

Lara Reichmann:

Disposable Bodies

• 32^nd MFRU
• Video
• Installation

The starting point of the project is the phenomenon of the Women Astronomical Computers, a group of mostly anonymous women who combed the night sky layer by layer and mapped and classified stars through photographic glass plates at the Harvard Observatory in the late 19th century. The analogous beginnings of computational processes and data analysis by so-called human computers highlight the complex relationship between technology and corporeality. By interweaving the sociological-historical position of the researchers and the fictional personal story of one of them, Disposable Bodies explores how data has been processed throughout history and how it is interpreted today. By shifting between the roles of observer and active protagonist, it questions who has the power to control the narrative and direct our gaze.