“Can the sun lie?” a U.S. court asked in 1886 when reflecting upon the probative value of new forms of technical evidence, specifically photographs and film. This now historic question was conceptually reanimated when indigenous people in the Canadian north made the public claim that the Arctic sun is setting many kilometres further west — an assertion since corroborated by scientists studying the changing optics of polar ice due to thermal inversions and global warming. The video sets out to explore the emergence of a new visual regime brought about by climate change as well as the dispute between lay knowledge and scientific expertise that subsequently arose at COP15 with regards to this solar dispute.

Susan Schuppli is a researcher and artist based in the UK. Her work examines material evidence from war and conflict to environmental disasters and climate change. Current work is focused on ice core science and the politics of cold. She has published widely within the context of media and politics and is author of the new book, Material Witness, published by MIT Press in 2020. Schuppli is Reader and Director of the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths where she is also an affiliate artist-researcher and Board Chair of Forensic Architecture.

Part of: Reader Nr 4 im/possible images

The contributions gathered in this Reader continue questions and themes of the exhibition project im/possible images in essays, reflections, collections of material and manuals. In the idea of accompanying publishing, texts and visual material are made accessible in the series of L13 readers that are connected to the themes and questions of various projects from the program of Lothringer 13 Halle and open up further spaces for thought. The contributions will be made available both online and in print on site at the Lothringer 13 Halle and can be individually compiled by visitors.