Exploring the boundaries between art, philosophy, and anthropology.
About me
I am Jessica Ragazzini, a researcher in art history and philosophy, passionate about interdisciplinarity and exploring the connections between art, anthropology, and aesthetics. Through my research and teaching, I examine representations of the body, photography, and contemporary artistic practices. My academic journey, marked by a joint PhD between France and Canada, reflects my commitment to innovation and the transmission of knowledge.
Passionate about the interactions between art, philosophy, and bodily representation, I conduct interdisciplinary research that explores the boundaries of the human and the object.
The Pillars of My Portfolio
Discover the key aspects of my journey through these essential categories. From my academic research to my teaching experiences and creative projects, each section reflects my commitment to interdisciplinarity and the transmission of knowledge.
Academic Journey
Discover my academic background through my studies and distinctions.
Research
My research focuses on photography, the body, and aesthetics.
Teaching
Explore my teaching experiences and the courses I have taught.
Projects and Exhibitions
Immerse yourself in my curatorial and artistic projects, blending research and creation. From exhibition coordination to organizing conferences and cultural events, these initiatives aim to explore and highlight contemporary artistic practices.
Session 4 – AFFECTIONS AND TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE BODY IN CONTEMPORARY ART(14-16 April, 2026 – International Colloquium Politics and Narratives of the Body)
This year again, I am honored to organize a session entitled: Session 4 – AFFECTIONS AND TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE BODY IN CONTEMPORARY ART at the International Colloquium Politics and Narratives of the Body (14-16 April, 2026).
Session – TRANSPARENT FLESH: REIMAGINING THE MEDICAL IMAGE IN CONTEMPORARY ART(8-10 April, 2026 – ASSOCIATION FOR ART HISTORY 2026 ANNUAL CONFERENCE)
This year, I am honored to organize a session entitled: Transparent Flesh: Reimagining the Medical Image in Contemporary Art at the ASSOCIATION FOR ART HISTORY 2026 ANNUAL CONFERENCE.
![Choisir et Fonder: A Reflection on Chosen and Founded Families [March 13 > April 13, 2024]](https://jessicaragazzini.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/434664724_1163615174645402_2680999239142767265_n.jpg)
Choisir et Fonder: A Reflection on Chosen and Founded Families [March 13 > April 13, 2024]
In 2024, I co-curated Choisir et Fonder with Mona Greenbaum at Galerie UQO. Through JJ Levine’s portraits, the exhibition explores chosen and founded families, questioning emotional ties that transcend conventional boundaries.
Galerie UQO Coordination: Artistic Project Development and Management (2021–2024)
From 2021 to 2024, as coordinator of Galerie UQO, I oversaw exhibition management, artistic production, and administration. I contributed to the dissemination of contemporary art by developing collaborations, supporting artists, and organizing interdisciplinary events. This experience reinforced the gallery’s role as a space for reflection and experimentation.
Coordination of Panel 5 – Affects and Transgressions of the Body in Contemporary Art (December 13, 14, and 15, 2023)
On December 13, 14 and 15, 2023, I coordinated Panel 5 – Affects and Transgressions of the Body in Contemporary Art at the Politics and Narratives of the Body conference at Università degli Studi di Padova. This event explored bodily mutations in art, examining the links between performance, affects, queer identities, and posthumanism in contemporary artistic practices.
Publication Coordination: Sans exposition, a Reflection on Media Imagery and War (October 2023)
The publication Sans exposition: Gulf War TV War, Raw Footage, CNN Concatenated is an ideal exhibition in literary form, free of constraints. It’s the emancipation of the curatorial act through writing in which the curator is also the narrator of the exhibition.
![Création[tiret]recherche(Creation–Research): An Exploration of the Links Between Art and Critical Thought [September 7 > October 29, 2023]](https://jessicaragazzini.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG_0264-scaled.jpg)
Création[tiret]recherche(Creation–Research): An Exploration of the Links Between Art and Critical Thought [September 7 > October 29, 2023]
In 2023, I co-curated Création[tiret]recherche(Creation–Research) within the 2J2R collective, an exhibition exploring the connections between art and critical thought. Presented at ART-IMAGE and Espace ODYSSÉE in Gatineau, this exhibition-laboratory examined research as a creative process in its own right. Discover how art becomes a space of experimentation and reflection through my curatorial approach.
![XL – A Group Exhibition Celebrating 40 Years of Creation [June 7 > July 29, 2023]](https://jessicaragazzini.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/348365342_6038357049607979_4601547298025035763_n.jpg)
XL – A Group Exhibition Celebrating 40 Years of Creation [June 7 > July 29, 2023]
In 2023, I was an artist-curator for XL at Centre AXENÉO7, an exhibition celebrating 40 years of creation. By exploring space and scale, this project brought immersive and performative works into dialogue. Discover my curatorial approach and the impact of this event.
Dialogue Between Gendered and Degendered Bodies: A Reflection on Art and Identity (November 4, 2022)
On November 4, 2022, I chaired the session Dialogue Between Gendered and Degendered Bodies at the UAAC/AAUC Conference at the University of Toronto. This discussion explored representations of the body and gender identities in contemporary art, questioning the impact of technologies, performances, and posthumanist practices on the perception of trans, non-binary, and mutating bodies.
Publication Coordination: 4×4, a Reflection on North–South Dynamics (September 2022)
The publication 4×4, directed by Emanuel Licha and coordinated at Galerie UQO, extends the reflection initiated by the film Zo Reken on North–South dynamics. Through a conversation with Maïka Sondarjee and Sabine Lamour, it questions the role of humanitarianism, patriarchy, and global power structures. A critical volume that highlights the contradictions inherent in international relations.
Publications and Presentations
Explore my contributions to research through articles, books, and conference proceedings, where I examine contemporary issues in art and culture. My participation in conferences and seminars further enriches these reflections and fosters academic dialogue.
“Le handicap fictionnel dans la science-fiction artistique” (March 2026)
In March 2026, my article « Le handicap fictionnel dans la science-fiction artistique » was published by BoD in a volume edited by Clément Pélissier and Jérôme Goffette for the academic association Stella Incognita.
Article :Prothèses en tension : sémiotique du corps altéré chez Sophie de Oliveira Barata et Viktoria Modesta (Sémiolitté-2025)
This article explores the prosthesis not as a mere medical or functional device, but as an aesthetic, political, and semiotic sign of the altered body. Through the practices of Sophie de Oliveira Barata and Viktoria Modesta, it analyzes how the prosthesis becomes a vector of subjectivation, a tool for identity affirmation, and a disruption of ableist norms.
Publication: “Kenny” (Fiche cinéma) – Retour d’image Association
In Kenny (The Kid Brother), Claude Gagnon depicts the true story of Kenny Easterday, a 13-year-old boy born without the lower half of his body and playing his own role. Through a cinematographic approach that blurs the boundaries between fiction and reality, the film reveals the daily life of a child whose greatest challenge is not his atypical body, but the social, familial, and media norms that surround him.
Review: FRED RITCHIN. THE SYNTHETIC EYE: PHOTOGRAPHY TRANSFORMED IN THE AGE OF AI | THAMES & HUDSON (November 2025)
In The Synthetic Eye: Photography Transformed in the Age of AI, Fred Ritchin offers a profound reflection on the transformation of photography in the era of artificial intelligence. He examines the new forms of generated images as well as the epistemological, social, and ethical issues raised by this “synthetic vision.”
REVIEW: BATHERS BY RUTH KAPLAN | DAMIANI (November 2025)
In Bathers, Canadian photographer Ruth Kaplan explores public baths as a primordial stage where the human body appears in all its vulnerable splendor. By photographing spaces of shared nudity, she seeks to capture bodies freed from social artifices, suspended between modesty and revelation.
Review: Japan Art Revolution, From Angura To Provoke | Amélie Ravalec (November 2025)
Amélie Ravalec’s Japan Art Revolution. From Angura to Provoke revisits one of the most incendiary moments in Japanese visual history, born from the ruins of a nation scarred by war and occupation. The author shows how, in the 1960s and 1970s, photography, theatre and politics intertwined to become the vectors of a shared revolt.
Review: Fear of Mirrors by Alba Zari | XYZ Books and Yogurt Editions (November 2025)
Alba Zari’s book Fear of Mirrors explores the fragility of the gaze in a world saturated with images. The faces that appear seem to float between surface and depth, as if trying to hold on to something already slipping away. Each portrait questions the very possibility of self-recognition, now that the mirror has become a screen—ever-present, ever-watching.
Review : EDWARD WESTON: BECOMING MODERN | MEP (October 2025)
The exhibition “Edward Weston — Modernity Revealed,” presented at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, traced the emergence of photographic modernity through more than one hundred vintage prints from the Wilson Centre for Photography.
Communication : Photographier la recherche : enquête sensible sur les gestes du savoir (November 18, 2025)
I will have the pleasure of traveling to Nantes for the study days Faire•Dire : écritures alternatives de la recherche – Dire 2025 : Quel(s) acte(s) pour la parole de la recherche ?, where I will present on November 18 a conference entitled « Photographier la recherche : enquête sensible sur les gestes du savoir ».
Communication : Le Japon dans les arts et la littérature. Autour de la photographie de Michael Kenna (November 14, 2025)
On November 14, 2025, I gave a lecture that was particularly close to my heart, “Erotisme, deuil et excès : représenter le Japon autrement dans l’œuvre photographique de Nobuyoshi Araki,” at Lycée Champollion in Grenoble, France.
Research Outreach
Discover my commitment to research dissemination through conferences, seminars, and symposia, where discussions foster scientific reflection. Beyond the academic sphere, I also share my work through podcasts and radio programs, making knowledge accessible to a wider audience.
The Body and the Object in the History of Art and Technologies (November 13, 2024)
On November 13, 2024, I gave a lecture at the Cégep de l’Outaouais on the interaction between the body and the object in the history of art and technologies. Through classical and contemporary works, this discussion explored the evolution of artistic corporeality and the impact of technological innovations on the perception of the human body in art.
![[Re]visit of the Exhibition Création[tiret]Recherche: A Reflection on Art Between Materiality and Immateriality (October 5, 2023)](https://jessicaragazzini.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2J2R_C-R-02-scaled.jpg)
[Re]visit of the Exhibition Création[tiret]Recherche: A Reflection on Art Between Materiality and Immateriality (October 5, 2023)
On October 5, 2023, I led a workshop-conference at the Cégep de l’Outaouais around the exhibition Création[tiret]Recherche. This meeting explored the tensions between materiality and immateriality in contemporary art, questioning the role of process, research, and immaterial forms in artistic creation. An interactive reflection on the evolution of media and artistic practices.
Steve Giasson Talks to Others: A Discussion on Otherness and Appropriation in Art (March 8, 2022)
On March 8, 2022, I participated in the discussion Steve Giasson Talks to Others as part of his exhibition at the Carleton University Art Gallery. Along with Jean-Michel Quirion, Mélanie Boucher, and Didier Morelli, we explored the concept of artistic appropriation, the identity of the author, and reinterpretation in contemporary art, in dialogue with Steve Giasson about the influences and references in his work.
Radio Intervention: Art and Technologies – Modified Realities? (October 25, 2021)
In Hypothèse – Art and Technologies: Modified Realities?, I explored the objectification of the body and the reification of the object in art and photography. Alongside Jesse Leonard, we also discussed the challenges of the doctorate, scientific communication, and the impact of new technologies on the perception of reality.
Bridging Artistic Photography and Fashion Photography (October 21, 2021)
During the webinar Les réseaux francophones de la recherche en Arts & Médias: Québec / France, I gave a presentation on the connections between artistic photography and fashion photography. This intervention explored the evolving boundaries between these two disciplines, their mutual influence, and their status in contemporary art, examining the transformation of the body and image through these visual practices.
Radio Intervention: Disney, from Walt’s Death to the Present Day – Pop en Stock France #48 (December 12, 2020)
In Pop en Stock France #48, I analyzed the evolution of Disney studios after Walt’s passing. From the revival of the 90s to the era of Marvel and Star Wars franchises, this show explores how Disney became a global entertainment empire.
Human-object, object-human: The photographic ambiguity (April 17, 2020)
Scheduled as part of the seminar on objects at UQO, my presentation “Object-Human, Human-Object: The Photographic Ambiguity” aimed to explore how photography blurs the boundary between the body and the object. Despite its cancellation due to COVID-19, this reflection remains central to my research.
Radio Intervention: Code Quantum in Pop en Stock France #40 (July 26, 2019)
In the Pop en Stock France #40 show on Radio Campus Grenoble, I analyzed the cult series Code Quantum and its impact on popular culture. Through its time travels and humanism, this landmark work of science fiction continues to influence the genre.
Methodology of University Research in Art: The Perspective of a PhD Candidate (October 19, 2018)
During my presentation “Methodology of University Research in Art,” I shared my experience as a PhD candidate with students in museology and arts practice at UQO. This presentation addressed methodological issues, the balance between theory and practice, and the challenges of research in art.
Finalist of the Ma thèse en 180 secondes competition – University Paris Lumières (March 29, 2018)
During the Ma thèse en 180 secondes final at University Paris Lumières, I presented my doctoral research in just three minutes. This exercise in scientific popularization allowed me to make my work accessible to a broad audience and refine my academic communication skills.