What if we could look into the sun and see the billowing gas clouds without going blind? Could we better understand the pulsating energy flow of nature?

The work is a special video projection that uses over a century’s worth of material, from the first black-and-white experimental photographs of the Sun taken in the 1930s to high-tech, high-resolution images from NASA, to animate the work. Using sophisticated computer programming, the artist has compiled and transformed over 15,000 images from various databases, including real-time images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite, to depict the dynamics of variations in solar activity. The work is inspired by mankind’s insatiable curiosity about the sun since the dawn of time, recalling the fear and horror of ancient civilisations at the effects of solar phenomena, while incorporating modern scientific knowledge into its narrative. At the heart of the work is Bernard Lyot’s invention of 1930, the ‘Coronagraph’, which revolutionized scientific observation of the Sun by allowing researchers to study the solar corona beyond the rare occasions of total solar eclipses. “Oh Lord” is a fascinating synthesis of the historical dimension of the solar cult, cutting-edge technology and the artist’s distinctive vision, providing viewers with a unique perspective on the central star of our galaxy.

Barnabás Bencsik