Staring at the Sun

Presented on two opposing screens, this four-chapter science-fiction documentary delves into the hidden side of solar geo­engi­neer­ing: tech­nolo­gies that seek to delib­er­ate­ly alter the Earth’s climate by manip­u­lat­ing the influence of the sun.

Since the first computer-based climate models of the 1950s, the dramatic rise in com­pu­ta­tion­al power has made possible increas­ing­ly precise climate simulations. Research centres, uni­ver­si­ties and private companies around the world are now developing these tech­nolo­gies and considering their large-scale deployment.

Staring at the Sun explores several current geo­engi­neer­ing projects alongside recent advances in numerical climate modelling and the creation of planetary ​“digital twins”. The film is narrated by a con­stel­la­tion of pro­tag­o­nists – from NASA remote-sensing scientists and geo­engi­neer­ing start-up CEOs to amateur doc­u­men­tar­i­ans and a super­com­put­er named Derecho – all inspired by real interviews conducted by the artist. Through these fic­tion­alised voices, the film reveals the ambitions, methods and stakes – economic, scientific and ethical – that shape these ventures.

It also highlights the often-ambiguous nature of inter­ven­tion­ist tech­nolo­gies applied to systems of extra­or­di­nary complexity, whose behaviour we still only partially understand.

Alice Bucknell 
Staring at the Sun, 2024 – 2025 
Two-channel video instal­la­tion, colour, sound, 40 min., looped 
Wall-based sceno­graph­ic elements 
Courtesy of the artist

Com­mis­sioned and co-produced by the EPFL-CDH AiR Program 2024: Enter the Hyper-Scientific, École poly­tech­nique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and mudac – Musée cantonal de design et d’arts appliqués con­tem­po­rains, Lausanne, with the support of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.