HERSHMAN LEESON, Lynn; NORTON, Margot (ed.)
Lynn Hershman Leeson: Twisted

For over fifty years, Lynn Hershman Leeson has created an innovative and prescient body of work that mines the intersections of technology and the self. Known for her groundbreaking contributions to media art, Hershman Leeson has consistently worked with the latest technologies, from Artificial Intelligence to DNA programming, often anticipating the impact of technological developments on society. As the artist posited in 1998, “Imagine a world in which there is a blurring between the soul and the chip, a world in which artificially implanted DNA is genetically bred to create an enlightened and self-replicating intelligent machine, which perhaps uses a human body as a vehicle for mobility.”

Twisted brings together a selection of the artist’s work in drawing, sculpture, video, photography, and interactive and net-based art, focusing on themes of transmutation, identity construction and the evolution of the cyborg. It includes some of Hershman Leeson’s most important projects, including the Breathing Machine sculptures; early drawings from the 1960s, many of which have never been shown; works from the Roberta Breitmore series (1970–79), perhaps her best-known project, in which she transformed her own identity into a fictional persona; selections from her Water Women series (1976–2010); and many more. [publisher’s note]

This catalog was published in conjunction with Lynn Hershman Leeson’s 2021 exhibition at the New Museum, NYC.

Foreword by Lisa Phillips. Text by Karen Archey, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Martine Syms.

Published by New Museum, 2021
Monographs