Solar Sallet. “Owning Earth”. Curated by Tal Beery and Erin Lee Antonak. June 2021 – October 2022.
“Solar Sallet: Collaboration with Alex Young as part of Owning Earth Exhibition at Unison Art Center. Pokeweed dye, transparent conductive oxide glass, titania nanoparticles, carbon, electrolytic solution, wire, steel, sun, weather, ceramic slip-case forms based on scans of 5th century Greek Amphora, hydroponic equipment.” Solar Sallet utilizes the dye made from the pokeweed berry as a photosensitizer in the production of solar cells. The use of pokeberry for was first put forth by researchers at Wake Forest University as an alternative to the more expensive and finite mineral supplies employed in solar technology because of its capacity as a renewable resource and ability to be used as a food source. Adapting the tradition of public water fountain sculptures and the Greek amphora, the novel solar array of this project will power a hydroponic water circulation system. Growing within the amphorae and supported by a network of roots, a garden of “invasive” plants will serve as the basis for ongoing experimentation. Harvesting the ruderal plantlife that thrives in the entangled zones of human habitation, Solar Sallet builds from the margins to contest capitalism’s project of organizing nature—simultaneously holding a mirror to dominant systems while pointing toward forms of resistance and utopian otherness.
For a review of the Owning Earth exhibition and project see here.
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