afterlife of images
aby warburg marc lafia
How do we see images when they are in constant motion, cascading past us in an unceasing flow? How do we make sense of them—not as isolated moments, but as part of a larger continuum of image production and memory? Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas sought to map the "afterlife of antiquity" (Nachleben der Antike), tracing how gestures and emotions endure across time. But what about the afterlife of the now—an era in which images dissolve into a perpetual present, their histories erased by the sheer speed of their circulation? Have we, in this atemporal condition, become unable to truly see them?
This multi-screen immersive installation unfolds across 10 simultaneous projections, spatializing time and inviting viewers into a kaleidoscopic field of images in motion. The shifting juxtapositions—coincidences, collisions, and echoes—extend Warburg’s visual logic, transforming the exhibition space into a living archive.
This contemporary Afterlife of Images is not a static collection but an ongoing process—a constantly shifting mise-en-scène where visual juxtaposition becomes a tool for meaning-making, tracing the migration and transformation of images across time. Blending digital media with historical imagery, the installation weaves together art, search, cinema, propaganda, religious iconography, social protest, AI-generated visuals, revealing unexpected constellations to proliferate ever new mappings of cultural memory through spatial arrangement. In contrast to the algorithmic sorting of the digital age, this work reclaims the image as an object of deep engagement, foregrounding its materiality, resonance, and interconnection.
Like Warburg, I want to map the persistence of images across cultures, but as well confront the overwhelming visual complexity of the present to invites us to rethink the relationships between peoples, places, and histories in a world shaped by tenuous digital connections. By taking images out of the infinite scroll and into a space of intentional juxtaposition, we have not just a new atlas, but a speculative terrain—where images breathe, collide, and reveal their hidden affinities.
I trust in adapting Warburg's method to examine contemporary image circulation, digital culture, and global visual literacy we can continue his pursuit of visual epistemology—an understanding through images rather than text—and thereby reveal the shared currents of visual cultural memories. More than an art historical study, Warburg’s project sought to chart the oscillation between rational and irrational forces in Western thought, mapping not just the survival of classical forms but the psychological tensions they embodied - certainly a project well worth re-visiting. ** See note below images
**Like Warburg, my work has long engaged with the collection, analysis, and recontextualization of images. Over the past quarter century, I have built an extensive archive—both a lens and a labyrinth—exploring how images function across time and space. This Atlas of Images extends Warburg’s vision into the digital age, incorporating the ideas of Walter Benjamin, John Berger, Marshall McLuhan, Jacques Rancière, Gerhard Richter, Hito Steyerl, and others to examine contemporary image circulation, digital culture, and global visual literacy.
Here are some of the ways the hidden patterns and their disruption of familiar seeing will emerge in the installation:
1. Rhythms of Power and Resistance
- When protest imagery from different eras and cultures are placed together, viewers suddenly see common gestural languages: raised fists, forward strides, collective movements
- Religious iconography juxtaposed with political imagery reveals how power has consistently used similar visual strategies across time
- The repetition of crowd scenes across different contexts shows how mass movements adopt and adapt visual languages
2. The Body as Historical Document
- Postures of authority repeat across centuries and cultures
- The choreography of labor appears in unexpected places
- Gestures of devotion, whether religious or political, share surprising similarities
- The way bodies are arranged in space (in ceremony, in protest, in celebration) follows recurring patterns
3. Breaking Familiar Narratives
- By placing a Chinese scroll next to modern propaganda, viewers are forced to reconsider both
- Religious imagery alongside contemporary advertising reveals unexpected continuities
- The juxtaposition of personal photographs with historical documents creates new readings of both
4. Visual Syntax Across Time
- The way images are composed (central figures, hierarchical arrangement, use of symbols) shows persistent patterns
- Color schemes carry cultural and emotional weight that transcends their original context
- Spatial arrangements (high/low, center/periphery) reveal enduring power structures
5. Disrupting Temporal Flow
- By placing ancient and modern images together, the installation breaks our habit of seeing history as linear
- Contemporary images suddenly appear ancient; ancient images feel startlingly relevant
- The familiar becomes strange through unexpected contextual shifts
This kind of curation challenges viewers to:
- Question their automated responses to familiar images
- See connections across time periods they normally consider separate
- Recognize how contemporary visual culture builds on historical patterns
- Understand their own role in perpetuating or breaking visual traditions
The power lies in making visible what we usually process unconsciously - the grammar of images that shapes our understanding of the world. When these patterns are exposed, viewers can no longer see images as isolated instances but must confront them as part of a complex, ongoing visual dialogue across time and culture.