
Nadja Swarovski:
“This installation has pushed our boundaries in terms of product development and design.”


images by Mark Cocksedge
Alongside crystal expert, Swarovski, Marjan created Cyanometer – a work that uses crystals to make solar cells more efficient. By cutting the glass in certain angles, the light is refracted in a way that focuses more intensely on the solar cells, increasing its efficiency.
The portable solar crystal harvests light during daylight hours, then once placed into a docking station, it powers a light installation that gives the sensation of “taking the sky indoors”. The stones used for the ring-shaped installation are opals, which scatter the light in the same way that the sky does. The more light the solar crystals receive in the daytime, the more intense light the installation can bring indoors. Cyanometer takes its name from the 1789 invention which was used to measure the colour of the sky.