“If representational visibility equals power, then almost-naked young white women should be running Western culture.” Peggy Phelan’s witty quote perfectly sums up the imbalance between in_visibility and (political) agency.
When we, the guest editors of this issue, had our first look at the picture of the inter-medial installation Susanne fotografiert mich beim Bade [Susanne Photographs Me Bathing] (2011/2012/2018) by Viennese artist Hannahlisa Kunyik, we were immediate-ly intrigued by the image’s ambiguity. Looking at the picture, even if it is just a detail of the artwork which now figures as the cover of this On_Culture issue, has spurred questions that have preoccupied us during our studies of in_visibilities and representation: what or who becomes in_visible here, why and how?
“Media exist because there is alterity” — so reads the first sentence of an introduction to media theories. [1] We need media to ensure that the position of alterity (the different, the Other) can be articulated, because “[a]lterity means an ‘other’ that initially denies access, that requires a third party to guarantee its conveyance, symbolization, preservation, transfer or communication.” [2] At first, a position of alterity seems to resist being made accessible. […]