Forensic Architecture: Inhumane Zones

Echo Correspondence presents Inhumane Zones, an exhibition by Forensic Architecture (FA), which will run from 19 October 2024 until 1 November 2024. This exhibition brings together a selection of FA’s recent investigations on Gaza since the start of the 2023 Israeli invasion, with a focus on the Israeli destruction of medical infrastructure in Gaza—including direct attacks on hospitals, ambulances, paramedics, and doctors—as an entry point for understanding the broader systematic annihilation of fundamental ‘conditions of life’ for Palestinians in the besieged Strip. Central to the exhibition are the experiences of medical practitioners who worked in Gazan hospitals following 7 October and became key witnesses to the unfolding violence on the ground. A featured film presents the testimony of one such practitioner, esteemed British-Palestinian reconstructive surgeon Dr. Abu-Sittah, who recounts the devastating blast at al-Ahli Hospital on 17 October as, in his eyes, the critical moment ‘when it stopped being a war, and it became a genocide.’

Forensic Architecture is an interdisciplinary research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, known for its pioneering approach to human rights investigations. FA specialises in the application of cutting-edge techniques in spatial analysis and digital modelling, in concert with open source research and situated interviewing methods, to investigate, reconstruct, and visualise instances of state and corporate violence. The team works closely with individuals and communities directly affected by human rights violations, often collaborating with legal teams, NGOs, and grassroots organizations to produce spatial evidence that is presented across legal, political, and cultural contexts in pursuit of accountability from governments, corporations, and other powerful actors.

In confronting state violence, FA has encountered various challenges including censorship and backlash against its work, particularly when being mobilised in politically sensitive or repressive environments. In full knowledge of these complexities, Echo Correspondence is honored to present five of FA’s recent investigations in Vienna, where Israeli violence against Palestinians in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been notably absent from public discourse in art and cultural institutions.

The exhibition Inhumane Zones will be accompanied by a public program consisting of two panels and two workshops