Iceland review - 2014, Qupperneq 12

10 ICELAND REVIEW
InnovatIon
Sharing
the Light
Danish-icelandic artist Ólafur elíasson is known for his
sculptures and large-scale installations and interven-
tions, such as dying the rivers of tokyo and Stockholm
fluorescent green, setting up 36-meter (120-feet) high man-
made waterfalls in new York City and designing the facade of
reykjavík’s harpa Concert hall. he is now making waves for
a much more practical and down to earth—but no less grand—
project: a 12-centimeter (5-inch) wide solar-powered LeD
lamp which he designed in collaboration with Danish engineer
Frederik Ottesen.
the project, dubbed Little Sun, focuses on getting clean, reli-
able, affordable and sustainable light to the 1.2 billion people
worldwide without access to electricity. Kerosene lanterns are
common in off-grid areas but pose a health and safety risk. the
pair stress that this is a social business, not another charity, and
has the additional aim of creating jobs and profits through train-
ing local entrepreneurs to become sales agents, as well as educat-
ing people around the world about the benefits of sustainable
sources of energy. another factor that sets the project apart is the
deliberate emphasis on beauty in the design of the tool; Ólafur
argues that it’s a misconception that people in the developing
world care only about functionality.
Launched in July 2012 at London’s tate Modern, Little Sun
now has distribution in eight african countries and has sold over
165,000 lamps worldwide. the lamps are also sold in areas where
electricity is more widely available, such as in europe, the United
States, Canada, australia and Japan, albeit at a higher price in
order to keep prices in off-grid areas low.
in part due to Little Sun, Ólafur was recently named one of
Complex Magazine’s ‘15 Most important Visual artists of 2014
(So Far).’ With a recent injection of funding—Bloomberg
Philanthropies invested USD 5 million in the project in april—
further expansion is on the horizon. *
Danish-icelandic artist Ólafur Elíasson’s latest project is helping to bring sustainable
energy to the 1.2 billion people around the world without electricity.
by Zoë RobeRt. photo courtesy of little sun.