Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light

About

22 August 2026 to 17 January 2027

An exhibition of spectacular international light art
This major exhibition brings together groundbreaking works by a diverse group of international artists who explore light in innovative and unexpected ways.
 
The exhibition takes its title from a 1913 Russian Futurist opera in which characters attempt to capture the sun and abolish time - a metaphor for the radical transformations brought about by new forms of artificial light in the 19th century.

Featured artists
Maarten Baas, Yto Barrada, Tine Bech, Chila Burman, James Clar, Shezad Dawood, Olafur Eliasson, Tracey Emin, Cerith Wyn Evans, Spencer Finch, Dan Flavin, Ceal Floyer, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Katrin Hanusch, Stuart Haygarth, Jenny Holzer, Hilary Jack, Glenn Ligon, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Erin McDougle, Steve McQueen, Tatsuo Miyajima, Ivan Navarro, Katie Paterson, David Shrigley, Liz West.

Buy tickets
You can buy a single exhibition ticket:

£10 adult (online); £12.50 adult (on the door, subject to availability); £2.50 children (under 18s) 
2-hour timed entry (please arrive within your allocated slot)
Buy tickets

You can buy an exhibition season pass:

£25 - unlimited visits during the exhibition dates 
2-hour timed entry slot required for every visit
Buy an exhibition pass

Take the exhibition home with you. The Victory Over the Sun exhibition catalogue offers a deeper exploration of the ideas, artists and works featured in this major show. Price £10.

Buy an exhibition catalogue

About the exhibition
The advent of electric light
The advent of electric light freed human activity from the sun's daily cycle, opening up new possibilities for creativity, learning and industry, and transforming social and family life after dark. Born in Sunderland, part of the historic county of Durham, scientist Joseph Swan developed the electric lightbulb at the same time as Thomas Edison in the United States. His work forms part of a rich local history of innovation and a creative reference point for the exhibition.
 
Tracing the many ways contemporary artists have, like Swan, sought to create artificial light, shape it into object form or experiment with its properties, the exhibition invites visitors to consider light's psychological effects and symbolic power.

The use of light
Featuring works by leading contemporary artists, the exhibition reflects on humanity's enduring fascination with the sun and our desire to harness and replicate it. It highlights the ingenious ways artists use light to sculpt and communicate ideas, while also exploring its fundamental role in nature and the cosmos.