We are All Connected - A New Solar Artwork

Solar Artworks

4 Oct

In August we were commissioned by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to create an artwork to celebrate the launch of the region’s new energy strategy which over 100 organisations have been involved in co-creating.

The strategy emphasises Smart Energy Systems which are felt to be an area which the region can pioneer development having many of the elements that will be essential to advancing our journey towards a low carbon future.

The invitation to develop this artwork asked us to consider what was poetic, interesting and important about Smart Energy Systems.

The fact that WMCA has a positive, constructive and shared vision/strategy is huge and well worth celebrating the efforts of all involved. It was such a hopeful thing to be involved with.

Our process needed to be fast. – We had 4 weeks to develop the concept, then design and fabricate the artwork.

Consultation with people working in the energy sector in the region told us that an important quality of the area was people’s willingness to connect and be supportive of each other, share knowledge and contribute to shared goals. We were excited to discover The Lunar Society which epitomised this spirit of collaboration and hugely advanced the industrial revolution.

We heard about the rich earth, our mining and smelting heritage and how the first cables that connected the UK to the US were made in the Midlands. We noticed the vibrant diversity of skilled people and perspectives, public and personal transport routes allowing movement and connection, digital pioneers and positivity.

When we imagined the best sort of world that might derive from smart energy, we pictured technologies allowing us understand ourselves and the world better, allowing us to better manage and restore landscapes, help people living in balance and harmony together, developing new renewable energy generation where it’s needed and sharing it fairly to give everyone the opportunities to live healthy lives.

“We are all connected” The heart of the matter and the title of the piece.

The artwork we designed is solar powered – A panel etched with poetic words derived from our conversations which cable across the surface provides power to a battery. A ply frame depicts people, those working on developing our energy systems and energetic symbols and shapes which are illuminated by neon arcs the rise above the panel and a string of LEDs which are triggered by interaction with the artwork. Viewers are invited to place their hands on copper plates on the frame and when they join hands, it triggers an Arduino controller creating a light display.

In essence, the artwork says ‘When we work together, we create illumination’.

We decided to use a reclaimed solar panel donated by ReSolar for this artwork. It was removed from one of the neighbouring buildings to Grenfell in 2017 following the disaster and has been in storage since. Many solar panels will be entering the waste stream soon, despite being still functional. It is estimated that solar panels loose around 0.5% efficiency per year which means that after 25-50 years solar panels can still be producing around 80% of the energy they did when they were installed. When people are living in fuel poverty, it seems a shame that they (in the main) end up in landfill. ReSolar is pioneering ways to address this problem.

The artwork was unveiled by Cheryl Hiles and her team at Energy Capital at the region’s annual energy conference and we invited 20 people to hold hands to illuminate the artwork. It was a special moment in a special place celebrating the West Midlands wonderful achievements and marking the first next steps towards a better future.

We are very much looking forward to bringing this interactive artwork to new places and seeing how any people we can include in an illumination.