Jessica Arseneau

How has the representation of the sun changed throughout time and history? Something fundamental has shifted. Five people, disconnected from one another, inhabit a place that seems familiar, yet profoundly transformed by a disturbance in the cosmological order. Bathed in sunlight streaming through skylights and windows, the film installation intertwines mythological narratives, scientific observations, and reflections on labor through the introspective voice of one of them. They remain disconnected from one another, each embodying a different perspective on a world where time has come undone.

This video installation that explores the disappearance of the seasons as a metaphor for our non-stop economic system and the loss of fundamental rhythms.

Cast: J.R. Blank, Tintin Cooper, Anna-Carolina Stuckart, Nouri Chamari
Dance: Justine Del Corte
Voice: Jessica Edwards
Script Consultant and Feedback: Gemma Kerr
Additional Text Editing, Translation: Jessica Edwards
Set Construction: Oliver Walker
Sound Recording and Music: Zach Hart
Light: Andres Villareal
3D Artist: Nestaeric
Special Thanks: Christine Cheung, Kathrin Grzeschniok, Laura Leppert, Bertolt Meyer, Daniel Theiler



By Lorenza Kaib

In the film, two people engage in a loose conversation about what things used to be like, how things came to this point, and what the situation is now. There is also another narrative voice that attempts to frame everything. In calm scenes, the protagonists are seen interacting with their surroundings. A dead wasp, a pile of leaves, a whale: all appearing in places and situations that feel unnatural, removed from their original context. Five protagonists appear in total, each of them alone. Only the two people who are speaking to one another are connected. Otherwise, there are no encounters, reinforcing the impression of increasing isolation.

When everything is synchronized, it feels like everything is working. Something arrhythmic, and all is out of balance (excerpt from the film).

The sun, the changing meanings it has acquired throughout history, and the continued recognition of its power are among the subjects discussed by the film's protagonists. From there, they speak about the weather, rhythms, and myths. According to Greek mythology, the origin of the seasons lies in an agreement between the gods. This agreement was made after Hades abducted Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. It was decided that Persephone would spend part of the year with her mother Demeter and the other part with Hades in the underworld. With her coming and going, life on Earth also changes: plants grow and wither, and the length of the day increases and decreases.

Arseneau explores the loss of temporal points of reference. The film moves between longing, loneliness, and the subtle breakdown of the psyche. The disappearance of the seasons becomes a metaphor for the elimination of essential human rhythms—a loss of natural cycles that makes the uninterrupted exploitation of resources and labour, around the clock, possible.

- Lorenza Kaib, excerpt [my translation]









We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.