Welcoming Text

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Sometimes we need to look outside the box to know what is in the inside. This is something that has been explored in theory using the concept othering in discussions about identities.  Through the process of othering, the self is constructed in relation and opposition to what the self is not. In the words of the philosopher Hegel, “it is through the act of recognising the other that the subject consolidates an identity as a self-conscious being”. The process thus creates divisions, hierarchies and subordinations where the self normally tends to possess certain positive attributes that the other lacks.

Othering Bodies explores visual representations of othering in the depiction of bodies, as either unclothed, deformed, or simply engaging in behaviours thought to be uncivilised in their pictorial, historical and moral contexts. Visual representations of otherness are a product and producer of dichotomies, allowing societies and individuals to place themselves historically and to set out their political, racial, moral and gender discourses. Thus, the visitors are invited to think about how otherness has been depicted across times and cultures.  

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We might not be able to dismiss the concept of othering given its centrality in all cultures. Nevertheless, being aware of how we construct social groups can be a positive step towards limiting the negative impact of the labels we impose onto society and cultures around the globe.