ATLAS OF SOLAR RADIATION © 2025
Atlas of Solar Radiation © 2025
Video projection with audio
Format: LED screen 16 x 7 m
Codec: Apple ProRes HQ, 25 FPS, 2 minutes (duration)
Spain Pavilion, Expo Osaka, Japan
Conceptualization: Esther Pizarro and Markus Schroll (Esther Pizarro Studio)
Production: Markus Schroll
Due to its strategic geographic position and technological advancements, Spain ranks seventh in the world for solar energy generation. Solar radiation maps, energy flow diagrams, and solar intensity charts are tools commonly used for its visual representation. The aesthetic metamorphosis of these scientific resources serves as the starting point for Esther Pizarro to create a generative atlas that, through an artistic lens, translates real solar irradiation data from the Spanish territory into abstract and evocative images.
The Sun is an inexhaustible source of energy for our planet, driving a wide variety of natural and technological processes on Earth, and playing a fundamental role in sustaining life and regulating climate systems. Solar radiation refers to the total flow of electromagnetic energy emitted by the Sun and describes the amount of solar energy that reaches a specific surface over a given period of time. Quantifying the energy generated in a specific location is key to building a sustainable future.
Thanks to its strategic location and cutting-edge technology, Spain holds the seventh global position in solar energy production. Solar radiation maps, energy flow diagrams, and intensity charts are essential tools for its visualization. The aesthetic transformation of these elements, extracted from scientific sources, marks the starting point for Esther Pizarro Studio in the creation of Atlas of Solar Radiation, a generative atlas that, through an artistic approach, translates real data on solar irradiation across Spain into abstract and suggestive imagery.
Blanca de la Torre (Curator of The Sun Itself Is No Longer a Mirror)
Atlas of Solar Radiation is an artistic proposal that transforms the Sun’s dynamics into images, revealing its essential role as a source of life and energy on our planet. The project focuses on the solar radiation received by Spain over the span of a decade, converting this data into a generative audiovisual work that poetically explores the visual metamorphosis of solar energy flows.
Based on three key parameters—solar wind, solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME), and solar radiation—the project generates abstract and evocative visuals that invite viewers to contemplate the invisible beauty of solar energy. The solar wind, a continuous flow of charged particles, can cause anything from auroras to disruptions in communication systems. Solar flares and CMEs are powerful bursts of energy capable of triggering geomagnetic storms. Solar radiation, the engine of Earth’s climate, influences weather patterns and thermal dynamics essential to life.
The audiovisual is structured in three chapters, each dedicated to one of these solar phenomena. The images are generated using a combination of tools including TouchDesigner, artificial intelligence (AI), and Runway ML 3. Gen—merging science, data, technology, and art.
This atlas is more than a visual representation of data; it offers an immersive experience, a sensorial journey from the cosmic to the earthly, where the invisible becomes visible and art becomes a bridge to the mysteries of the universe.
CREDITS::
Conceptualization: Esther Pizarro and Markus Schroll (Esther Pizarro Studio)
Audiovisual Production: Markus Schroll
Curator: Blanca de la Torre
Architectural Project: Néstor Montenegro, Enorme Studio, and Smart and Green Design
Promoted by: AC/E Acción Cultural Española
Exhibition Design: smartandgreendesign
For: @expospain2025
EXHIBITED AT::
Expo Osaka 2025, Spain Pavilion, Plaza del Sol, “The Sun Itself Is No Longer a Mirror”
Curated by Blanca de la Torre. Artists: Pilar Albarracín, Eugenio Ampudia, Ruth Gómez, Elena Lavellés, Marina Núñez, Esther Pizarro, and Juan Zamora. Japan, 13/04/2025 – 13/10/2025
