300 KM or the Apparent Path of the Sun

Directed by Rohini Devasher

"The Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (run by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics), located on the southern tip of India has recorded images of the Sun, every day, since 1904. As a result, the KSO is one of only two observatories in the world that has over 100 years of solar data. In December 2019, Devasher visited the Observatory for the Annular Solar Eclipse on December 26.One of the oldest instruments at the Observatory is a Spectroheliograph (a device for photographing the surface of the Sun, in a particular spectrum) which has been in operation since 1905. In this new double channel work, Devasher records the movement of the Sun across the Spectroheliograph’s metal plate. However, where the instrument usually continuously tracks the Sun, in this case the tracking device was deliberately disabled and the mirror stationary, so the Sun moved slowly across the metal surface as it moved through the sky." — Project 88, Frieze Viewing Room 2020