It may be challenging to translate image-based research to fit expectations associated with art institutions. “Visual Investigations” at the Munich Architecture Museum reveals how design, advocacy, architecture, and law are intertwined. By making their connections visible the exhibition shows how      aesthetic perceptions and visual storytelling constitute forms of resistance against complex social and political conflicts.

Upon entering, visitors encounter a translucent veil, hinting at moving images behind it. The exhibition design offers choices. Cases investigated by research organizations, communities, and NGOs turn the three galleries into a world of local struggles and investigative methodologies. It is up to the visitor’s curiosity to delve into the lengthy evidentiary process and technologies involved. Alternatively, one can follow a historical timeline that traces the evolution of communication technology from the first aerial analog photo to the first YouTube video, the first smartphone to the advent of AI. It showcases how these tools influence human rights advocacy as well as indexes a vocabulary of visual investigation: Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), 3D modeling, remote sensing. A common thread runs through all: they are civil verification tools, created collectively, interdisciplinarily, and with activism at their core. They are open to contestation and verification, and embody research and new technologies for civil responses to violence by the state or corporations.

In the midst of this data density, moments of rest and reflection are provided. Open spaces with windows overlook the garden connecting the surrounding museum complex. With benches and books they offer a necessary pause. So, is this art, architecture, or evidence? Crossing such thresholds allows the complexity of events to unfold, interpreting data, images, and information within legal, political, cultural, and social spheres. “Visual investigations” allow the cases to reach farther, engage visitors and attune to the social dimensions of conflict. Today’s crimes are increasingly visual and spatial. Making room for these discussions is both a challenge and an essential act.

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