Body of Evidence (2020) is an artist's book that examines the role of documentary evidence in defining national and individual identity. The red, white, and blue of the printing and binding echo a national story, viewed from the perspective of an immigrant, with quotations from Rebecca Solnit, Emily Dickinson, William James, Agnes Martin, and Fernando Pessoa. In this online event, Ana Paula Cordeiro, the creator of Body of Evidence, speaks from the workshop in New York City where she created & produced it. We open the conversation by examining the book’s unique structure, moving on to consider the questions posed by the book’s theme. What qualifies as a document? When does a document become evidence? And what does this evidence prove about an individual or a nation? How can an individual's narrative assert their integrity in face of dehumanization? The conversation will be launched after a live presentation of the copy of this book now in the Bodleian.
Body of evidence | Visit the Bodleian Libraries (ox.ac.uk)