Shani, Tai, 2025, Show, Exhibition or Event, The sun is a flame that haunts the night (Unpublished)
| Abstract or Description: | Tai Shani’s practice encompasses performance, film, photography, and sculptural installations. Taking inspiration from punk rock, cult cinema, Greek mythology, feminist theory, and science fiction, Shani creates dark, fantastical worlds, brimming with utopian potential. These powerful works often pair emotional monologues with striking, colorful installations, creating vivid and thought-provoking images in the viewer’s mind—both unsettling and beautiful. Shani was awarded the 2019 Turner Prize alongside Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, and Oscar Murillo. For the High Line, Shani presents The Sun Is a Flame That Haunts The Night, a series of three candlesticks, a recurring motif in her work. Each almost cartoon-like candlestick is rendered here in urethane resin with a glass flame that glows at night. For Shani, whose work often explores themes of spirituality, mortality, and mythology, the candle holds many meanings. It can represent a vigil or memorial, while also symbolizing hope and healing. Candlesticks such as those depicted in The Sun Is a Flame That Haunts The Night also have links to manifestation, the occult, and witchcraft, all of which have become often closely associated with fourth-wave feminism—subjects that permeate the artist’s practice. Though melting candles often represent the passage of time, The Sun Is a Flame That Haunts The Night stays forever lit, paused on the High Line—a respite where one loses sense of time and space. |
|---|---|
| Events: | Title Location Dates Type The Sun Is a Flame That Haunts The Night The High Line 2025-04-01 - 2026-03-01 UNSPECIFIED |
| School or Centre: | School of Arts & Humanities |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Nov 2025 15:08 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Nov 2025 15:08 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/id/eprint/6632 |
![]() |
Edit Item (login required) |
Tools
Tools