Gravel and Sand. Aggregates and Other Recent Grounds

Working from a long-standing interest in the origins of construction materials and the links between cities and the sites they are extracted from, Lara Almarcegui’s recent projects turn to recently produced matter: gravel, sand and rubble, and the terrains they give shape to. These large-scale, speculative works are frequently developed in dialogue with geologists and mining institutions.

The point of departure for this exhibition is a questioning of newly formed landscapes: small build-ups left over after demolitions or quarrying as well as vast terrains of displaced materials such as spoil heaps or dredged sand. River diversions are another source of new geographies, like temporary islands or sandbanks. For Almarcegui, these indeterminate sites become a lens through which to consider their transient present and possible futures.

Die Halden in Deutschland (The Spoil Heaps of Germany) compiles a vast volumetric calculation of the country’s largest spoil heaps with the purpose of estimating the volume of land they form. Mapping their total mass across a 17-metre wall at the Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle (Saale), the work quantifies the amount of waste rock displaced through potash and lignite extraction during 175 years of mining debris in Germany, while pointing to the latent potential of these residues. The biggest spoil heaps in terms of volume are associated with potash and lignite mining still in operation. At 2.2 billion cubic metres of lignite waste, Sophienhöhe stands as the country’s largest spoil heap.

The drawings for unrealised projects developed for exhibitions and biennials propose a series of installations involving construction sand sourced from rivers, lakes and seas. The global dredging industry is responsible for shifting vast quantities of sand and generating new landforms through extraction. Although these projects remain unrealised, largely due to logistical constraints of scale and weight, the drawings persist as speculative traces of the complex entanglement of material, site and built environment.

Where are the materials needed to build Bilbao sourced from? What is the connection between the aggregates used in concrete and the places they come from? Developed at the quarry in Mañaría, Calcárea is an invitation to observe a very ancient geological material just prior to its extraction. Formed over 115 million years ago, this rock had remained hidden inside the mountain until, as part of this project, it could be seen for a few days only before being processed for use in the construction of Bilbao.

In Buried House, produced by the Nasher Sculpture Center, a house in southeast Dallas scheduled for demolition is dismantled and then materially reabsorbed into its site. The rubble is buried in the garden, returning the materials to their original geological placement. Set within a neighbourhood in constant flux, the recycling of the house affords an opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of the site.