Abstract

The essay investigates the imaginary of head transplantation. Head transplantation, so far never put into practice due to both technical and ethical reasons, has recently become a central topic of critical debate because of Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero's plan to perform it in 2017, on a patient affected by spinal muscular atrophy. The analysis focuses on Canavero's communication strategies, largely based on Western visual imaginary, to make public opinion accept this surgical operation - very innovative, but also much questionable since it will dramatically alter the patient's self-construction -, and contextualizes them within a wider artistic reflection on surgically reassembled bodies.