Olafur Eliasson has unveiled his Little Sun at Tate Modern show, to be launched on July 28 which makes use of his fun looking solar lamp invention...

At 'Tate Modern Blacks Out for Olafur Eliasson's Little Sun 2012', visitors will be invited to look at works of art in the dark using only the light of Eliasson's Little Sun solar-powered lamps.

The lamp which is shaped like a sunflower will also be made available for people in developing countries via charities such as Plan International...

Although the lamp can be utilised by anyone anywhere seeking a small solar powered light source.

"Little Sun responds to the situation we face today where natural resources no longer abound," explains Eliasson...

"Energy shortage and unequal energy distribution make it necessary to reconsider how our life-sustaining systems function."

The artist wants the publicity surrounding his Little Sun project and people's experience of his show to act as a means of opening up discussion on renewable energy from the perspective of art...

The presentation at Tate Modern is a showcase for the Little Sun solar-powered lamp drawing attention to the power of solar light to improve lives.

The artist has talked about his longstanding inspiration and fascination with light, not surprisingly for an artist, but also part of his cultural experience, light being a limited commodity in winter in Nordic and Scandinavian countries.

The artist sees the power of light to draw people together and a way of creating positive social and life connections...

The engaging art project is announced at a time that around 1.6 billion people worldwide live without access to mains electricity...

Starting on July 28, people at the Tate can participate in Tate Blackouts on Saturday nights, after ordinary museum hours for two hours, with visitors invited to look at the Tate Modern's Surrealist collection using only the light of Little Sun lamps.

It's an idea that follows the 1938 International Surrealist Exhibition at the Galérie des Beaux-Arts, Paris, where Man Ray torches were handed out to explore the galleries...

Beyond the Tate Blackout events, Olafur Eliasson: Little Sun will feature in a space on the third floor of the gallery where visitors can learn about solar power, global energy challenges, and the importance of light.

Little Sun, that has a variety of uses in terms of practical day to day life, produces five hours of light when it is charged in the sun for five hours... The artist's little light hopes to inspire small business creation, concentrating profits at the point of need, and promoting economic growth...

The project is launched in a year that the ‘The State of Renewable Energies in Europe’: a European Union document revealed the renewable energy sector is growing across Europe.

In the UK last year, 32,000 people were employed in the renewables industry.

According to the findings, green energy in Europe including solar, wind energy solutions, etc, has a turnover of over €125 billion, an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year...

Environmental charities like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, have long argued the case for investment in renewable energy in both developed and developing nations as a way of stimulating economic growth as well as protecting the planet...