Forensic Architecture: A New Photographic Language in a Factual Era

Abstract

A group of visual activists, architects, software developers and archaeologists as well as a multicultural team composed of artists, investigative journalists and lawyers – an organic organization. Forensic Architecture ‘Investigative aesthetic’ is based on visual aggregation on data allowing viewers to enhance their perception-cognition of events by the integrated use of augmented photography. Their works have been presented in front of a court, but also exhibited at international shows all around the world. FA expanded use of photography, integrating in the urbanistic reconstruction of frames of any kind of multimedia information collected, consider it not simply as a medium, but as a proper tool for triggering critical reflections and political action. Forensic Architecture have mainly been investigating the area of conflicts with the aim to present counter- investigation on unclear circumstances, often underlining social constructs in the public forum. The particular role that FA plays, claiming social truth and assigning to photography the function to be a “civil act,” remarks its place in the history of war photography, and underlines the importance of also having a contra-culture in a post- industrial society, permeated by the presence of technology. Keywords: evidence, Forensic Architecture, forensic reconstruction of event, photography, truth-value