Sandcastles

“The desert… may serve better as the backdrop for the problematic relationship between man and the environment. The human struggle, the successes… both noble and foolish, are readily apparent in the desert. Symbols and relationships seem to arise that stand for the human condition itself.” — Richard Misrach

The Sandcastles series is about “concreteisation” — the unstoppable urge of man to build the world. Everywhere in the world, groups of investors are looking for those places that are unique — with that beautiful beach, the best situated mountainside, the best feng shui — to plant similar mega-projects there. And the experience for the tourist is the same everywhere.

The location was, after some searching, the south coast of Egypt — nowhere was the contrast between concrete and desert, between building material and the sea so convincing. The emptiness, the waste of energy and raw materials, can be read most painfully when reality is shown as it is: large, empty and monumental.

To convert this into visual language I opted for panoramic photographs, printed on a large length. This also benefits the storyline — the length provides a different way of looking: the photos have to be read from left to right. This tension is not customary, but it has a delaying and narrative effect.

Presentation

Nine panoramic photos are presented on the wall with a length of 2.40 m, printed on Japanese Inbe paper (70 g), processed by Patricia Rau. The central piece measures 1.1 by 3.3 metres. In the middle of the exhibition space, three large and a dozen small objects carry images of the collapsed dream — the posters and heavily weathered advertising panels for the unfinished projects — directly printed on pseudo-building materials created with plaster by Ilse Jansoone (Mixed Media, Academy of Ghent). Hidden between the building materials, small speakers play a read-aloud text in which a strong, commercial, American-sounding voice recommends a mega vacation resort to investors.