Keynote Lynn Hershman Leeson

On the Intersections of Technology and the Self

For over fifty years, Hershman Leeson’s practice mines the intersections of technology and the self. She is known for her groundbreaking contributions to media art from Artificial Intelligence to DNA programming, often anticipating the impact of technological developments in society.

In this lecture, she will give an overview of her work, particularly related to cyborgs, from 1966’s Breathing Machines , to 2018’s Antibody and 2020’s Gravity’s End.

“Imagine a world in which there is a blurring between the soul and the chip, a world in which artificially implanted DNA is genetically bred to create an enlightened and self-replicating intelligent machine, which perhaps uses a human body as a vehicle for mobility.” Lynn Hershman Leeson (2000)

The talk will bring together a selection of Hershman Leeson’s work in drawing, sculpture, video, and photography, along with interactive and net-based works, focusing on themes of transmutation, identity construction, and the evolution of the cyborg. Roberta (1972-79), PhantomLimb (1985–88) and Cyborg (1996–2006), as well as Infinity Engine (2014-present), a recent large-scale project, a multimedia installation based on a genetics laboratory that explores the effects of genetic engineering in society that trace the ever-intertwined relationship between the technological and the corporeal to illuminate the political and social consequences of scientific advances on our most intimate selves and biological lives.