Solar Panels (Radiolaria Series)

This series brings together three functional 100-watt pho­to­volta­ic panels, their surfaces etched with images of radi­o­lar­i­ans: single-celled marine organisms whose mineral skeletons are renowned for their geometric intricacy and striking beauty.

Made famous in the nineteenth century through the illus­tra­tions of the German naturalist Ernst Haeckel – one of the first to use the term ​“ecology” – radi­o­lar­i­ans inhabit every ocean on the planet. Their fossilised skeletons form a significant part of the sediments that blanket the seabed.

By inscribing these millennia-old, almost invisible forms onto a con­tem­po­rary energy technology, James Bridle opens a dialogue between ancient life and present-day modes of harvesting light for energy production. The jux­ta­po­si­tion is not merely poetic: recent optical research suggests that certain engraved patterns can enhance the efficiency of pho­to­volta­ic cells by trapping light more effectively.

James Bridle
Solar Panels (Radiolaria Series), 2022
100 W 12 V monocrys­talline pho­to­volta­ic panels with etched glass and frame 
Series of 3 panels
Courtesy of the artist