It’s Not My Body X, 2011

Operating within the traditions of conceptual and feminist art, Josephine Pryde’s work references the history of photography and contemporary medical-imaging techniques. In the series It’s Not My Body, desert landscapes shot through tinted filters are superimposed on low-resolution MRI scans of embryos, evoking the relationship between the reproduction of images and biological reproduction: namely, how the advent of ultra-sound technology has shaped cultural perceptions of bodily autonomy, personhood, and abortion. Their titles and imagery draw a parallel between women’s bodies and land as territories to be legislated in debates surrounding ownership. Furthermore, by digitally manipulating her images, Pryde gestures towards another kind of manipulation—that of widely circulated viral images—to provoke consideration of their impact on contemporary political debates despite their potential distortions or falsifications. Ultimately, these works address the interconnectedness of visual culture and sociopolitical power dynamics, and their reciprocal effects on each other.