Counter Investigations

Counter Investigations is a survey of the work of Forensic Architecture, their first major UK solo exhibition.

‘Forensic architecture’ is not only the name of the agency but of an investigative practice that traverses architectural, journalistic, legal and political fields, and moves from theoretical examination to practical application.

Counter Investigations presents a selection of investigations, addressing topics from a racist murder in Germany, to the 2014 bombardment of Rafah, Gaza, to instances of deferred responsibility by state agencies that have contributed to the deaths of migrants at sea in the Mediterranean.

As historically contextualised interrogations of contemporary social and political processes, these investigations put forward a form of ‘counter forensics’. They serve as sites for the pursuit of public accountability through scientific and aesthetic means, in opposition to the monopolisation of narratives around events by state agencies.

The individual investigations presented function as anchors for public events, workshops and discussions, with the exhibition as the physical infrastructure for the curriculum of a short course in forensic architecture.