Dead Images is an exploration of the complex and contentious legacy of two collections held at the anthropology department of the Natural History Museum in Vienna: a collection of over 40,000 human skulls and, within this collection, a collection of over 50,000 anthropological photographs. Methods of measuring, categorising, numbering, storing and displaying the skulls bring forward ethical questions of objectification and legacies of racism in science. At the same time, anthropometric photography – the attempt to use photography to measure, categorise and racialise the living – flourished alongside the disciplines of researching the remains of the dead. Large collections of human skulls and anthropometric photographs were assembled during the 19th and early 20th centuries. While some skulls were collected, and photographs were taken close to home, in both cases many of them were of colonial subjects, war prisoners, genocide victims, or their ancestors. They were taken without consent, by force or under unequal power positions, in spite of and in violation of local practices and beliefs. Through a travelling exhibition, an education programme and public events, the Dead Images project reflects on the ethical, scientific and political implications of these collections and their display. www.dead-images.info www.traces.polimi.it
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
