Ka Mate: Chronicles of the Sun 
– Performance & Lecture – November 22

A new performance commissioned by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation explores humanity’s quest to harness the power of the sun—blending science, mythology, and ritual in a meditation on creation and control.


15:00 – Performance by Ilkhom Theatre

The Uzbekistan National Pavilion announces Ka Mate: Chronicles of the Sun, a new performance created by Tashkent-based Ilkhom Theatre and commissioned by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF). Presented as part of the Pavilion’s public programme for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (Biennale Architettura 2025), the performance will take place on 22 and 23 November 2025.
Set against the late‑Soviet backdrop of “last megaprojects”, Ka Mate: Chronicles of the Suncentres on a secret experiment by scientists attempting to create an artificial sun under conditions of total secrecy. The performance fuses science fiction, documentary objecthood and ritual to activate several layers of perception – historical, philosophical and existential – while drawing on solar mythologies from Helios to Ra and Mitra.

14:30 – Lecture (prior to performance)
November 22, 14:30

Eugeny Abdullaev: “Victory over the Sun”: solar energy in 20th-century literature and mythology

The harnessing of solar energy has preoccupied both scientists and writers in the 20th century. In visions of future society, solar radiance emerges as the primary form of energy. "Victory over the Sun" occupied a particularly prominent place in Soviet literature of the 1920s and 1930s, a time of sweeping social transformation. In Alexander Belyaev's novel "Struggle in the Ether," Grigory Adamov's short story "Paths of the Future" etc. harnessing solar energy was represented as part of a social utopia. Such ideas had both scientific and mythological basis, linked to the archaic image of the Sun as a benevolent deity.

Suhbat Aflatuni (Evgeniy Abdullaev) is a poet, writer, translator, and essayist born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He is the author of three poetry collections and ten books of prose. His poems and stories were translated into English, French, Polish, Chinese, Korean etc. His poems were included in “Tulips in Bloom: An Anthology of Modern Central Asian Literature” (Palgrave MacMillan Press, 2024). He is a member of the editorial boards of the literary magazines “Zvezda Vostoka” (Tashkent) and “Druzhba Narodov” (Moscow). He lives in Tashkent.

• Venue: Quarta Tesa, Arsenale di Venezia, Uzbekistan National Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia (Venice).

• Admission: Entry requires both a valid La Biennale di Venezia ticket and advance registration for the performance.

• On‑site access: Visitors must present a purchased Biennale ticket to access Biennale venues.

• Tickets: Tickets may be purchased at Biennale box offices or online via the Biennale website.