The Sun Reflected On a Pond At Night
13th - 23rd March 2025
Private View : Thursday 13th March 2025, 6-8pm
Workshop : Unproductive Production
Wednesday 19th of March 2025 from 4 - 6:30pm
(Scroll down for more info)
The Sun Reflected on a Pond at Night is a posthuman fairy-tale that offers a radical counterpoint to the linearity of the neo-capitalist agenda. Presented at London’s A.P.T. Gallery from the 13th to the 23rd of March 2025, this group exhibition invites viewers into a space where the absurd and the unconscious push back against the relentless forward march of capitalist productivity.
Transformation in motion becomes the product itself—fluid, uncertain, and ever-evolving. By prioritising movement over static outcomes, the exhibition sheds light on the precarity of contemporary society caught in a relentless dynamic of aimless productivity.
In an era prevailed by neo-capitalist values, which praise unending growth and measurable output, this exhibition instead revolves around the concept of “unproductive production”, understood as a revolutionary act. Through a cyborg-feminist lens, it adopts the language of the fairy-tale and refuses to conform to the rational, the efficient and the linear. The Sun Reflected on a Pond at Night ultimately questions whether we can resist the oppressive neo-capitalist propaganda through the stories we tell, the worlds we imagine and the unproductive acts of creation we dare to embrace.
The Sun Reflected On a Pond At Night
The Sun Reflected on a Pond at Night is a posthuman fairy-tale, an ode to the interconnectedness between the machine and the organic, the conscious and the unconscious, the linear and the cyclical. This group exhibition, presented at London’s A.P.T. Gallery from the 13th to the 23rd of March 2025, invites viewers into a space where inefficiency challenges the relentless drive of neo-capitalist linear productivity. Featuring works by Royal College of Art alumni Carlota Bulgari, Rachel Bungey, Pablo Fernandez and Aliya Orr, the exhibition reconsiders the experience of time and existence through a cyborg-feminist lens, raising questions about the precarious state of contemporary society. The exhibition approaches time and movement from an anti-capitalist perspective, portraying them as cyclical rather than linear. This core concept is expressed through the kinetic nature of some selected artworks, where the central matter undergoes a gradual, perpetual transformation. By reinterpreting productivity, the show transforms the traditional production line into ‘unproductive production’, ultimately elevating process and motion over the static nature of the final product. In contrast to the conscious, the logical and the functional, The Sun Reflected on a Pond at Night embraces the language of the fairytale. Drawing from Jungian analytical psychology, the exhibition explores the shared unconscious desires and fears of contemporary society, embodied by the ephemeral nature of the featured sound-based installations and performative acts. Here, sound is understood as directly connected to the ungraspable unconscious— emotions and memories that cannot be represented through tangible means. The exhibition unfolds in three distinct spaces that engage the viewer’s senses. Lighting and sound complement the artworks, creating an immersive atmosphere where sculpture is reimagined as an ecosystem. The unique qualities of each piece activate the others, sparking an interconnected dialogue between the organic, the machinic, the conscious, and the unconscious. The Sun Reflected on a Pond at Night is ultimately an act of resistance—a refusal to conform to the linear, rational thinking that dominates contemporary society. By embracing the absurd and the inefficient, the featured works disrupt the conventional order, offering a space to reflect, slow down, and embrace a more contemplative, cyclical existence.
Artists
Carlota Bulgari’s practice situates itself within a cyborg-feminist framework that challenges the dominant anthropocentric perspective. Supported by interests in postmodern philosophy and feminist sci-fi narratives, Bulgari’s work examines the formation and ‘deformation’ of subjectivity within a neo-capitalist context. Now London based, the Italian and Spanish artist’s cross-disciplinary approach encompasses performance, installation, and sculpture, with biomaterials being interconnected with technological components, underscoring the importance of including both the human and the nonhuman in processes of co-creation and co-destruction.
Rachel Bungey is a London based artist whose practice explores our relationship to the natural world through concepts of entanglement and abstraction. Working across sculpture, drawing and painting, Bungey constructs fictitious hybrid anatomies— a whale jaw bone or a mantis arm become storytellers of the past, allowing us to unravel the narratives of our human and non- human predecessors. Drawing from Donna Haraway’s concept of the ‘Chthulucene’, Bungey wants to ‘learn’ from the non-human. Delving into the realms of emotion, intuition, and the subconscious, she gives shape to the symbiotic relationship shared between all living organisms.
Pablo Fernandez views the absurd as the central medium in his art practice— a chaotic space where questions about existence and the world around us arise. Working between London and Berlin, his practice confronts materiality’s dynamic, anarchic, and authoritative qualities through processes of resistance and regeneration. Drawing from intuition and personal experience, Fernandez explores the relationship between time, space and reality, blending raw materials with technology to give sculptures a sense of autonomy. Preferring exploration over structured concepts, he finds beauty in the ruins and remnants of the creative process, embracing the fluid, fragmentary nature of life and art.
Aliya Orr is an interdisciplinary artist working between London and Montreal. Her practice spans intimate and architectural scales, exploring spectacle, ritual, and their role in daily encounters and belief systems. Central to her work is the unknown, with belief and uncertainty as key principles. She addresses emotional and social issues, examining how ideology, globalization, faith and new media shape societal norms and states of mind. Drawing from psychoanalysis, mysticism and ecofeminist and post-colonial frameworks, her work incorporates materials and live media—wind, sound, light—to activate space and explore the dynamic between the material and the immaterial.
Events
Unproductive Production
Workshop
Wednesday 19th of March 2025 from 16:00 - 18:30
Free
This workshop invites participants to explore the intersection of ephemeral art and performative practices through a playful, collaborative, and process-oriented approach. Inspired by the core concepts of The Sun Reflected on a Pond at Night, including the concept of "unproductive productivity," participants will be invited to engage in an absurd “assembly line”, where performances and small, ephemeral interventions challenge traditional notions of production and value in art and society.
Workshop Structure
1. Introduction: Presentation of key concepts from the exhibition, including "unproductive productivity" and the role of absurdity in artistic creation.
2. Warm-Up Activity: Short, interactive exercises to encourage creative thinking and set the tone for the workshop.
3. Site-Specific Art Planning: Guided brainstorming sessions where participants sketch, document, and develop ideas inspired by their environment. Participants will be encouraged to embrace spontaneity and impermanence in their process.
4. Collaborative Creation: The Absurd Assembly Line, where participants will be assigned a specific task that contributes to a collective, yet intentionally “unproductive" outcome. The emphasis is on absurdity, experimentation, and breaking traditional creative norms.
5. Reflection and Discussion: Group reflection on the process, challenges, and insights gained from engaging in ephemeral and performative practices.