Travestimento, gender performance e fotografie di fantasmi. Le sedute medianiche di Linda Gazzera and Eva Carrière

Between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, scientific practices and phenomena linked to the paranormal world intermingled, influencing the cultural and artistic scenario of the time and showing different studies around spiritism and the role of mediums. In this context, the present contribution analyzes the work of two women, Linda Gazzera and Eva Carrière, and the use of photography within the sessions for the purpose of testifying to their mediumistic powers. The analysis of these two case studies, in which mechanisms of suggestion and illusionism meet, will make it possible to observe the original employment of a symbolic gender disguise aimed at conquering a new space of freedom and social emancipation.