The installation by Gusztáv Hámos and Katja Pratschke was inspired by Thomas Mann’s short story Die vertauschten Köpfe (The Transposed Heads, 1940), which is based on an 11th century Hindu legend. The photographic novel – which has been adapted for film and book – consists of six tableaux and tells the story of two good friends, Jan and Jon, in 294 still images set in a contemporary environment. The black and white flow of images evokes Chris Marker’s photographic film La jetée and the love stories of the French New Wave. Jan, a man of superior intellect, and Jon, a man of great physical gifts, become involved in a love triangle with Marie, who cannot choose between the two men. They are involved in a tragic accident on a road trip, which results in the loss of both boys’ heads and a life-saving operation to exchange heads and bodies. But which of them is Marie’s lover and the father of her unborn child? The recurring dilemma can only be resolved by collective suicide. In two videos accompanying the installation, neurosurgeon Professor Robert White talks about the technical feasibility of the operation, based on his monkey head transplant in the 1980s, while psychiatrist and philosopher Hinderk M. Emrich discusses the conflict between body and soul and the power of love to shape the personality. Moving beyond the original story, Transposed Bodies also raises current issues in genetics and neuro- and biochemistry, as well as the ethics of science, including whether certain medical interventions should be performed just because science is capable of it.
Krisztina Szipőcs
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