'Grace of the Sun': Robert Montgomery's COP26 solar powered artwork

Grace of the Sun by Robert Montgomery at the Sustainable Landing Hub, Cop26, Glasgow. Image: Andy Aitchison

So happy to reveal this COP26 art installation in Glasgow by the wonderful artist Robert Montgomery.

A project very close to my heart that Robert and I dreamed up together when I was working with non-profit Little Sun, this magical solar powered light poem is urging divestment from fossil fuels and commitment to renewable energy at COP26, and will illuminate every day at sunset as a poetic beacon of hope for Glasgow.

Robert Montgomery, a Scottish artist, constructed the 11 metre-wide and five metre-tall artwork using 1,000 solar-powered Little Sun lights. Post-COP26, the artwork will be dismantled and the lights will join Little Sun’s wider efforts to provide clean, affordable solar power to the 600 million people living without electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Located at the arts and climate justice pop-up Sustainable Landing Hub site, the project was supported by The Pipe Factory, MT Art Agency and is enabled by green energy pioneer Octopus Energy.

After the artwork’s installation in Glasgow the work will be dismantled and the lights will join 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 nonprofit has brought solar light and power to over 3 million people to date.

Volunteers from The Pipe Factory in Glasgow light up the 1,000 solar lights at dusk. Image: Andy Aitchison

One of the projects main aims was to represent the voice of the majority, in amplifying the call for the shift away from oil to renewables. For too long renewables has sat at the sidelines of mainstream culture, but in working hand in hand with artists we can all begin to create the groundswell of changing hearts and minds needed to truly bring about systemic change.

We all know this transition is multi faceted and requires a multitude of approaches - not least the most magic and powerful of all: creativity. In the words of James Mazzeo: "The role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible."

“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 realization that the sun is there to save us, if we only make the effort to reach out to it. I hope that others across the world will join us to tell the story of solar’s powerful force for good.” Robert Montgomery

“I’ve long been convinced of the power of art and culture to counteract widespread numbness and create change in the world,” added Olafur Eliasson, Little Sun Co Founder. “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.”

Although it provides only 3 percent of the world’s power currently, research suggests that solar can meet the majority of the world’s energy needs by 2040 and is the most powerful means of preventing runaway climate change if implemented now. You can find out how to create a solar powered world at Reach for the Sun.

The sun comes down over Glasgow, as another day of climate talks closes. Image: Andy Aitchison

Love this project? Don't forget to head to Little Sun to donate to their latest campaign 'Power to Read' getting solar lights to children in sub-saharan Africa to enable them to study and imagine a brighter future: https://lnkd.in/gT_swv-k