Tasting light is a design fiction speculating on potential future technologies that could provide synthetic photosynthesis for human beings. This aesthetic and behavioural exploration is rendered tangible using object props and videos.

The context was inspired by the phenomenon of “sun gazing”, a practice that includes the ability to survive without food. We explored the possibility of extending the human capability to directly process energy from natural sunlight for nourishment. Through the study of the basic mechanisms of solar energy conversion in biology and chemistry, scientific research confirms, that it is possible to develop artificial photosynthesis to offer benign energy generation and storage.

Tasting light proposes an alternative approach to nutrition. As eating in general is not only a vital need but also has sensorial and social aspects, this project investigates the aesthetic potential of ‘eating light’ as well as the impact of accommodating our habits.