Little Sun, co-founded by Olafur Eliasson, collaborated with Scottish artist Robert Montgomery on Grace of the Sun – a solar powered light poem urging commitment to renewable energy at the UN climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
The artwork, which comprises a poem written by Montgomery, has been constructed using 1,000 solar powered Light Sun lights and stands 11 metres wide and five metres tall. The giant solar light poem – in place for the duration of COP26 – illuminated every day at sunset as a beacon of hope for Glasgow.
After the artwork’s installation (from 29 October to 12 November), the work was dismantled, with the lights joining Little Sun’s wider efforts to provide clean, affordable solar power to the 600 million people living without electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the non-profit has brought solar light power to more than three million people to date.
Located at arts and climate justice pop-up The Landing hub on the Sustainable Glasgow Landing site, the installation was part of Little Sun’s initiative Reach for the Sun to engage creatives in the global movement to highlight the power of solar to tackle climate change and end energy poverty. It calls for immediate investment in renewable energy on a mass scale and the acceleration of net-zero carbon emissions globally. The project is enabled by global green energy tech pioneer Octopus Energy Group, and supported by Montgomery’s agency MTArt Agency, specialists in sustainable art production – the first certified B Corp UK company with the art sector.
Robert Montgomery said of the installation: “We are now at the frightening point where the climate crisis has arrived. I’m thrilled to collaborate with Little Sun and Octopus Energy – this project is a beacon of hope. Instead of looking under the ground for energy we should have all along been looking up. A solution is visible to us all the time, every day: the sun. There’s a great beauty in the realisation that the sun is there to save us, if we only make the effort to reach out to it.”
Olafur Eliasson, Little Sun Co-Founder, added: “I’ve long been convinced of the power of art and culture to counteract widespread numbness and create change in the world. The climate crisis is here; we know what needs to be done. We have the knowledge and technology necessary to transition within the next decade to a world powered by renewable energy. Yet knowledge may not be enough.
“A work of art like Grace of the Sun can help us to recognise that our lives are inextricably linked to our surroundings, to structures and systems and people beyond our local context. If we expand our sphere of care to encompass the natural elements that support life as we know it, we can formulate a vision of a positive future for the generations to come.”
“We believe that art can create possibilities for climate action, inspiring global connectivity, promoting positive action and enhancing citizenship engagement,” continued John Heller, CEO of Little Sun. “Little Sun’s work with artists helps us imagine a future that we can’t yet fathom – one where all people thrive and share the power of the sun. We’re thrilled to have joined forces with Octopus Energy, whose commitment to green energy and support for climate artists fits perfectly with our mission.”
