Does the Sun Have a Translucent Shell? is the fifth book in the annual 'A Series of Open Questions' published by CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (a San Francisco-based exhibition space and research institute) and Sternberg Press.
Each book includes newly commissioned writing as well a selection of perspectives, images and references related to the Wattis’s year-long research seasons dedicated to single artists. This volume is informed by themes found in the work of Anicka Yi, a conceptual artist whose work explores the merging of technology and biology and which attempts to break down distinctions between plants, animals, micro-organisms and machines in order to foster improved understanding ourselves as humans and the ecosystems we live in. The themes examined in this volume include AI, umwelt, scent and taste, the anthropocene, decay and rot, the animal world, feminism and Asian American experiences.
Other contributions include a cocktail recipe by Pierre Huyghe, an academic essay on psychedelic mushrooms in Native American culture, and a short story by Argentinian author Julio Cortázar, along with photographs and drawings relating to the themes. Through an eclectic range of international voices, the book encompasses many mediums in an attempt to address some of the most pressing issues of our time.
Includes a fold out page with drawings by Anicka Yi.
Sternberg Press, 256pp, 11cm x 18cm, illustrated paperback, 2025
