FREE SUNSHINE! (2018), in Collaboration with Oliver Walkhoff, was an intervention and installation comprising of a temporary electronics lab offering free solar-powered robotics workshops to the public, with a particular focus on teenagers from disadvantaged schools. The project has formed in response to Eskom and Nersa’s (the National Energy Regulator of South Africa) development of rules requiring all small scale energy generators under 1 kilowatt to be registered; a process which also involves a fee. As this includes sustainable energy systems such as solar and wind power, the swarm of sun-powered G☼ggaB☼ts¹ made during the workshops were used as demonstrators against problematic energy regulation and service. The first round of workshops and installation took place as part of ISEA2018 (International Symposium on Electronic Arts), within the context of the exhibition Life Hacking, and continued at a school in Baleni, in rural South Africa. In total, over 350 G☼ggaB☼ts were made.
Particular attention had to be paid to the design of the PCBs, where precise weight distribution after the components had been added had to be taken into account, but also so that the bots looked like insects even with just the raw components. Learners were encouraged to decorate their bots with elements found in their surroundings, such as bottle caps and grasses.
The project was in collaboration with industrial designer and and mechanical engineer Oliver Walkhoff.
Free Sunshine was made possible with the support from Pro Helvetia, the Swiss National Arts Council.
1. Gogga – South African. From Khoikhoi “xoxon”: insects
More information can be found at freesunshine.org
