Installation View: Barbara Hammer, Evidentiary Bodies, 2018; Multimedia Installation with three-channel HD video (color, sound, 9:30 minutes); Transmission Screens (2016) which includes 48 X-rays (17 x 14 inches each) with HD video (color, silent, 2:57 minutes) eye hooks, black paper clips, binder rings and pole to hang X-rays

We are delighted to announce that Evidentiary Bodies has been acquired by the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Evidentiary Bodies (2018) combines many of Barbara Hammer’s signature techniques into a powerful final work that reflects both her life as a filmmaker and her experience with cancer. Visitors enter the space through a hallway where three large rows of X-rays hang, requiring them to pass through before entering the room. Inside, Hammer’s nude body moves across three projections, while superimposed images of her medical scans scan her form in slow motion, illuminating the frame. The installation features elements from Hammer’s earlier works, including Sanctus (1990), Chest X-rays (2015), and Blue Paint Film Scroll (2005), and is accompanied by a haunting score created with cellist N. Scott Johnson. The completed installation was first presented in 2019 at the Wexner Center in Ohio as part of the solo exhibition Barbara Hammer: In This Body, following her passing.

I really wanted to understand–my goal in life and even with my last film, which I almost called Empathy rather than Evidentiary Bodies, is to be able to know from the inside out. Why can’t we have a way of, I don’t know, becoming the other person, where, I don’t know, it could be seconds, it could be an hour–but to really see the world through someone else’s eyes? – Barbara Hammer

We extend our deepest gratitude to Chrissie Iles for her unwavering support of Barbara’s work, as well as the entire Whitney team. Your dedication and commitment have made this milestone possible. We are truly grateful!

Barbara Hammer: Evidentiary Bodies is currently on view at The Fralin Museum of Art (The University of Virginia) through January 26, 2025.