Maja Escher's 'Misurazione del Sole' Reimagines the Sun as Feminine at Monitor Roma

Maja Escher's solo exhibition 'Misurazione del Sole' at Monitor in Rome, curated with a critical text by Filipa da Rocha Nunes, runs until April 24, 2026. The show challenges the masculine gendering of the sun in Romance languages by recovering its feminine etymology in Germanic languages, where the sun is personified as Sól or Sunna. Escher's works include textiles dyed with natural pigments, copper wire, quartz, and ceramics, such as the installation 'Oho do sol – suns's eye.' During the opening, she staged a participatory happening inspired by the Wiwanyag Wachipi (Sun Dance), inviting attendees to hold hands in a circle, lie on the floor, and visualize the sun. The exhibition explores solar themes across mythological, optical, and alchemical dimensions, including parhelia and the 'Sun of the Philosophers.' Escher's practice repositions the sun as a maternal, nurturing force, drawing on Norse mythology where Sól is fated to be devoured by the wolf Skǫll at Ragnarǫk, only to be reborn through her daughter. The show also features ceramic pieces like 'pequeno fio de sol – small sun thread' and 'filha do sol – daughter of the sun' (both 2026).