Images both reflect and exert violence, and shape how we perceive the world. They may represent violence directly, or their violent potential may be associated with their production, dissemination, or use.

Many questions arise: Where does the violence in and of the image begin? What makes an image violent? Who decides this, and in what context? How do production technologies and distribution channels influence the relationship between image and (the exercise of) violence? And how do artists deal with the issue of violence and the violent potential of image technologies?

Through the lens of various disciplines, the new publication Violent Images (NERO, 2025) investigates the politics of visual violence and its potential to provoke, subvert, and transform social, political, and media discourses. The artists and scholars invited to contribute to this image-text publication discuss “The Whiteness of Silicon Valley’s Digital Ecologies” (Stephanie Polsky); “Gender and Violence in News Media and Photography” (Roland Bleiker and Emma Hutchison); transgressive image-making practices (Monica M. Haller), and more. All the contributors critically examine established and emerging visual concepts of violence, suggesting that our engagement with them is inherently political and more pressing than ever.

Violent Images explores the intricate relationship between visual culture and the social and economic conditions that influence and are influenced by it. It illustrates the need for a more critical and engaged approach to visual representation and communication in the context of local and global conflicts and crises.

The conversation will see the editors, Eva Leitolf and Giulia Cordin, introduce the research behind this volume, as well as the long-term research project Negotiating Images. Focusing on editorial practice as integral to the research process, the editors will read selected excerpts and screen a video presentation.

This event is presented by transmediale in cooperation with Nero Editions .