The project was realised as part of the residency at the ‘Organhaus’ in Chongqing, China, which took place in May/June 2025.
"Evil Sun" is a spatial installation inspired by a phrase I heard in childhood: "At certain moments, even the sun can be evil." It’s a simple observation—yet it reflects how judgment is often contextual and complex, and how each person carries their own standards of measurement.
This installation alters the existing lighting system of the exhibition space: each light is redirected away from the viewers and aimed at the ceiling. The light that once illuminated now becomes reflected, creating an atmosphere enveloped in mirroring. This deliberate act is intended to generate a kind of unplaceable ambiguity—neither cold nor warm, perhaps too cold, or overheated.
The motivation for this gesture arose from a series of encounters during my residency:
While visiting an abandoned glass factory in Chongqing, I stumbled upon a box of thermometers. Although they were all mass-produced under standardized procedures, each instrument showed subtle differences in both shape and readings. These marginal deviations within a system designed for uniformity prompted my reflection on standardization and deviation—whether, even within structure, ambiguity, uncertainty, and the possibility of exception always persist.
Traveling through China as an artist from Russia, I encountered a different kind of “temperature” — a warmth rooted in historical ties and ideological memory. Unlike my experiences in Europe, where my nationality often provoked suspicion, here it evoked generous hospitality. Yet comfort, like heat, can be deceptive. Political climates shift, and so do individual thresholds of response.
Can heat signify cold? Can protection inflict harm? Can the sun be evil—even as it continues to shine?
"Evil Sun" is an exploration of these tensions—between the standard and the exception, the visible and the distorted, the warmth and the wound—through light, as both medium and metaphor.
