Does the Sun Have a Translucent Shell? (A Series of Open Questions)

On the timely themes in the work of Anicka Yi, including AI, umwelt, scent and taste, the anthropocene, decay and rot, the animal world, and feminism.

This is the fifth book in the annual series A Series of Open Questions published by CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts 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, such as AI, umwelt, scent and taste, the anthropocene, decay and rot, the animal world, feminism, and Asian American experiences. 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 insert with drawings by Anicka Yi.

Contributors
Giorgio Agamben, John Berger, Nina Canell & Robin Watkins, Mel Chen, Julio Cortazar, Stephanie Dinkins, Dave Elfving, Ayesha Hameed, Taro Hattori, Cathy Park Hong, Tishan Hsu, Pierre Huyghe, Caroline A. Jones, Brian Karl, Heesoo Kwon & Karen Cheung, Jen Liu, Jochen Lempert, Yutaka Matsuzawa, Aspen Mays, K. Allado McDowell, Naomi Mitchison, Ho Tzu Nyen, Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez, Adrian Villar Rojas, Jackie Wang, Keith Williams, Anicka Yi.

Jeanne Gerrity is the Deputy Director and Director of Programs at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (USA) and has written for such publications as Artforum, Art Agenda, and Frieze.

Diego Villalobos is a curator from Cuernavaca, Mexico, currently based in San Francisco. He works as the Assistant Curator at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, where he recently presented Rodrigo Hernández: with what eyes? (2023–24), Drum Listens to Heart: Live Performances (2022–23), and Mirra Helen: Leaves 1992–2022 (2022). From 2016 to 2019, Villalobos served as a curator at The 500 Capp Street Foundation in San Francisco.