Column“By bringing Little Sun to Tate Modern and the London Olympics, I hope to realise an art project for those who typically have no access to global events of this scale.” – Olafur Eliasson

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has been developing Little Sun over the last two years. The concept brings solar-powered light to off-grid areas of the world and this summer Eliasson is bringing his project to the Tate Modern.

Starting on July 28, people will be invited to participate in after-hours Saturday night Tate Blackouts. For two hours, the lights will go off in the museum, and visitors can look at works in the suite of galleries devoted to the museum’s Surrealist collection using only the light of Little Sun lamps. This echoes the 1938 International Surrealist Exhibition at the Galérie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, where Man Ray (as “Master of Light”) supplied the visitors with torches to explore the complex galleries.

Says Eliasson:

Over the years, I have been absorbed by phenomena such as light, time, the negotiation of space, compassion and the relation between body, mind, and action. Little Sun brings these different strands of my work together – this is a very important step for me. By bringing Little Sun to Tate Modern and the London Olympics, I hope to realise an art project for those who typically have no access to global events of this scale.

He explains further:

Light is for everyone – it determines what we do and how we do it. This is why Frederik Ottesen and I have developed the solar-powered lamp Little Sun. Little Sun is a small work of art with a large reach. One part of the artwork is the lamp and the activities it enables. The other is the successful distribution of Little Sun in off-grid communities, its journey from production to usage.’ By purchasing a Little Sun solar-powered lamp here, you help make it available for a lower price to people who do not have consistent access to electricity.

Should you be in London this summer be sure to Experience a Tate Blackout on one of these dates:

Saturday 28 July 10 p.m. – midnight
Saturday 4 August 10 p.m. – midnight
Saturday 11 August 10 p.m. – midnight
Saturday 18 August 10 p.m. – midnight
Saturday 8 September 10 p.m. – midnight

Little Sun is a work of art that works in life.

Inspired by a post on ArtDaily.com

Eco, trends, art, creativity and how they tumble through social media to shape culture fascinate EcoSalon columnist Dominique Pacheco. Her trends blog, mixingreality, speaks to these topics daily, and here at EcoSalon, she takes a weekly look at the intersection of eco and art. We call it heARTbeat.

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