Oxygenic photosynthesis is the most important biological innovation in the history of the Earth. Tearing water molecules apart to power photosynthesis, with oxygen being released as a waste product, facilitated the transition to a habitable planet for complex aerobic life.

The energy input for photosynthesis is the gentle sparkle of photons from the sun. In all of biology there is only one catalytic site able to accumulate and organize photons to split water precisely. This is the chair-shaped Manganese cluster known as the Oxygen-Evolving Complex. It is identical in cyanobacteria, algae, and all higher plants.

Here is an impressionistic portrait of the Mn4CaO5 cluster in action. The composition is based on a vintage wooden chair that I restored in partnership with my daughter, Emma.