This speculative video aims to imagine a dystopian future where political power is derived from solar energy harvesting. In the future, the global energy crisis has caused households to become entirely responsible for their energy production and consumption. Solar energy has become the most popular form of sustainable energy, but not everyone is able to afford or maintain solar panels. This has led to the rise of solar thieves, spies, and security guards who protect the panels. At the same time, solar power has become part of a new religion, with its own set of ethics and punishments for those who steal solar panels. The global economy has also been flipped on its head, with developing countries in the global south becoming wealthy by renting out 'fertile' solar lands to other countries. Some of these countries are now planning to colonize the lands where the sun is harvested, in order to gain a monopoly on the market.
Intro
Although solar energy is frequently promoted as a sustainable solution to social problems, the team behind this project recognizes that it is a somewhat idealized and commoditized aspect of this energy and may have unintended consequences. As a team, our goal is to shed light on underrepresented perspectives and encourage participation from those whose voices have been unheard.
[From left] Nawon Koo, Rawan Khater, Howard Melncyczuk and Sandu Cojocari
Goals
To achieve this, we propose creating a space to discuss the topic of solar energy and the geopolitical issues surrounding it. We question who is benefiting from it, and who is being exploited by this "sustainable energy?" What does even sustainable energy mean when there is an unsolved waste issue? How can we bridge the gap between knowledge and the general public?
To address these questions, this project envisions a dystopian future where political power is gained through the collection of solar energy. Using critical making and collective reflection as our method, the team aims to construct this dystopian world, incorporating diverse perspectives and ideas. By imagining this future, we hope to revisit the current state of solar energy technology and avoid repeating the mistakes made with fossil fuels and plastics. We invite the audience to contribute their own vision to this collective world-building project, which could take the form of a short story, audio, image, or film. These visions will be added to a platform for open discussion. By creating critical fiction as research, we build layers to communicate its complexity and share insight with each other.
Methodology
As part of the ongoing project Sun as a New Currency we propose a methodology of production that facilitates the development of a collective world-building exercise. This methodology operates in two broad directions, along complementary and codependent vectors:
1- Critical Making: Rapid iterations of narrative elements
2- Collective Reflection: learning about the world that is being built, the world being worlded through these narrative elements
Narrative elements can consist of anything that helps enrich the fictional world of the project. This could be (but is not limited to) film clips, audio fragments, physical objects, or written texts.
More details on methodology:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13o0u56QiwfySnMBOMT4BBpecPMeDrXJ8WPE4oXhAwmU
Website:
suntopia.world
About Open Lab #02: The Metabolic Sublime
LAB#02 'The Metabolic Sublime' is the second in a series of interdisciplinary laboratories for research and collaborative production that Medialab Matadero deploed to materialize and operationalize collective intelligences. Energy sovereignty, agrologistic automation, phantom extractivism, territorial instrumentalization, residual circularity, decarbonization, geoengineering... LAB#02 addresses the theme of 'The metabolic sublime', which proposes to reimagine the current energy regimes on a planetary scale and the role that human beings would have to play in order to implement new paradigms. But also, how their implementation will transform us back, demanding new customs, practices and cultures.
This project is guided by Marina Otero, Liam Young, and Joana Moll.
Promoter: Yujin Joung
Collaborators: Sandu Cojocari, Howard Melncyczuk, Rawan Khater and Nawon Koo
Friendly advice from : Julian Gresham and Kris De Decker
Sun as a new currency, Openlab #02, Matadero Medialab
Dystopia Matadero
Dystopia Matadero, Digital media, 2023, Yujin Joung
“In the early 21st century, our ancestors lived in a world where they relied heavily on solar energy. They had built a thriving civilization with towering skyscrapers and bustling cities, powered by the sun's rays.
Years passed and civilizations rose and fell, but the legacy of our ancestors lived on. In the ruins of a forgotten city, one solar panel remained, still standing tall amidst the rubble. Despite the passage of time, the panel was still functioning, harvesting the energy of the sun and converting it into usable power.”
Years passed and civilizations rose and fell, but the legacy of our ancestors lived on. In the ruins of a forgotten city, one solar panel remained, still standing tall amidst the rubble. Despite the passage of time, the panel was still functioning, harvesting the energy of the sun and converting it into usable power.”