Set the Body Free: Copying as a Feminist Gesture in the Digital Images of Lynn Hershman Leeson

Lynn Hershman Leeson is an American filmmaker, performer, video artist and one of the pioneers of digital art and new media. Her work focuses on the relationship between humans and new technology. She approaches these topics with a technophile optimism and trust in the emancipatory power of technology from a feminist point of view, which also makes her one of the first cyberfeminists. These are also the
themes she explores in her feature films Conceiving Ada (1997) and Teknolust (2002), which can be seen as a feminist gesture of preserving feminist history and as an attempt to create a new position for women with the help of technology. The artist sees the process of copying (with possible errors) as central. Besides the themes they explore, the films are also interesting and still relevant due to their pioneering use of digital film technology.

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