Nomination
The Solar Share stages a form of planetary economics based on photosynthesis. This artistic provocation seeks to estimate the orders of magnitude of new solar energy income metabolized by photosynthetic organisms at a planetary scale, a process fundamental to all planetary life.
Photo: Bram Versteeg
Photo: DISNOVATION.ORG
Photo: DISNOVATION.ORG
Photo: DISNOVATION.ORG
Photo: Bram Versteeg
Photo: DISNOVATION.ORG
Photo: DISNOVATION.ORG
Photo: DISNOVATION.ORG
The Solar Share project challenges prevailing economic models with insights from sunlight-processing organisms, crucial to life’s metabolism. Featuring a one-square-meter microalgae bioreactor, it highlights human dependence on photosynthesis and proposes phytobiomass (here as edible microalgae) as a new economic unit. This new unit, a “Solar Share”, represents the average daily biomass yield on one square meter of Earth’s surface. This edible algae unit is a photosynthetic proof of work that can be consumed, exchanged, or stored as a currency.
By recognizing the critical role of photosynthesis, The Solar Share introduces a new kind of economic tool that balances human needs with the planet’s ecological limits.
Credits
Project by DISNOVATION.ORG
Co-design: Katharina Ammann
Project assistants: Romain Theron, Léo Lima
Co-production: IFT Paris, Xcenter Nova Gorica, ART2M, and More-Than-Planet
Co-commissioned by Hac Te with the support of the S+T+ARTS program of the European Union
With support from: the S+T+ARTS program of the European Union and the More than Planet, EU founded program
Biography
DISNOVATION.ORG (INT) merges contemporary art, research & hacking to critically translate complex eco-social debates into operative and provocative exhibits. They create radical artworks staged as large laboratory experiments focused on energy, ecology, and economics that work as catalysts for crafting futures that diverge from prevailing narratives. Their exhibits, books, and videos permeated global cultural landscapes fostering a critical dialogue at the nexus of artistic, political, and scientific inquiry. They co-edited A Bestiary of the Anthropocene with Nicolas Nova.