olafur eliasson: little sun solar powered lantern

'little sun' by olafur eliasson and frederik ottesen
photo by olafur eliasson
© frederik ottesen and olafur eliasson

icelandic artist olafur eliasson has developed 'littlesun', a small solar-powered lantern, in collaboration with entrepreneur frederik ottesen .
presented as part of the world economic forum, which is designed to bring forth proposals in how art can participate in creating world change,
the hand-sized device has been made to improve access to light and electricity to those living in small, rural communities in africa
which are not built on an electric grid. the 'little sun' initiative provides an affordable, off-the-grid alternative to lighting for more than
2.5 million people in africa, who have an income of less than two dollars a day. eliasson also plans to expand his research into
a few more solar products including a cell phone charger and radio.



'little sun', solar-powered lamp by night
photo by merklit mersha
© frederik ottesen and olafur eliasson



being used for business purposes - illuminating a shop
photo by terhas berhe
© frederik ottesen and olafur eliasson



possible scenario for use of 'little sun'
photo by olafur eliasson
© frederik ottesen and olafur eliasson



the device is hung within a family home to illuminate the dining area
photo by helen zeru
© frederik ottesen and olafur eliasson



powering the device during daylight hours
photo by olafur eliasson
© frederik ottesen and olafur eliasson



the device takes on the shape the yellow, circular form of a sun
photo by maddalena valeri
© frederik ottesen and olafur eliasson



'little sun' adds a burst of color to a shop stand while gaining energy for later use
photo bydesta madere
© frederik ottesen and olafur eliasson