Image & Object 2022 Symposium

Purity is an illusion. No matter how hard we try, our thoughts, feelings and actions involve complex, unquantifiable mixtures. In the physical world too, very little can readily be described as “pure”. The pollution of the planet extends to the pollution of bodies. New-born babies feed on breastmilk containing substances intended to stop furnishings from catching on fire; there are pieces of plastic in our food and in our digestive tracts. Even in chemistry labs, 100% purity is extremely hard to achieve.

Yet we continue to cling to purity. Although the notions of racial purity that once dominated the discourse on human difference are now only defended by fringe few, ideological and cultural purity remain valuable ideas. Appropriation, with its connotations of hybridity and plurality, has become a dirty word. All the while, detox treatments and spiritual healing modalities promise purity as a pathway to happiness.

Hosted by the History of Art department, this year’s annual Image & Object Symposium will bring together four speakers from across the University of Oxford with different disciplinary backgrounds. Each will talk about a particular image or object that raises the multivalent question of purity, followed by a Q&A.

Advance booking is required for this event (places are limited). Please contact admin@hoa.ox.ac.uk to book a place.