For her installation at the Springhornhof, Lara Almarcegui (born 1972 in Saragossa, living in Rotterdam) has 120 cubic meters of sand poured on the ground floor of the Kunstverein. With this almost ceiling-high installation, there is a creation of a relationship between the historical exhibition building and the naturalism of the raw material necessary for its construction, and the origins of that raw material from beneath the building. At the same time it directs the view of sand as one of the most important construction materials worldwide and comments on the availability of this resource.
Lara Almarcegui, who represented her birthplace of Spain at seth Venice Biennale in 2013, and who was an artist in residence of the Leuphana Arts Program in 2015, has an expanded researching approach tat examines economic conditions, legal regulations, and geological changes. In her exhibition, this is understood thanks to supplemental drawings, texts, and a film.
In the time leading up to the show, the artist undertook extensive research into the sand deposit of the region. Among other things, she was able to take ultrasonic measurements of the grounds of the Kunstverein Springhornhof with scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Applied Geosciences in Hannover in order to measure the soil texture and the strength of the natural sand layer. The result of the measurements taken were implemented in the exhibition via drawings. In addition, the Landkreis Hedekreis received a building permit for a deep pit, which officially secured the artist’s access to the sand.
The exhibition is the start of the Jubilee Program of Springhornhof, which this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of its landscaped art projects. In 1967, sculptors from Japan, Sweden, Italy and Germany were invited for the first time to the Heidedorf Neunkirchen, in order to work on boulders. Since then, artists such as Gary Rieveschl, Christiane Möbus, Timm Ulrichs, HAWOLI, Micha Ullman and Tue Greenfort, have repeatedly occupied themselves with the soil and rocks found in the region in their sculptures and installations.
Exhibition runs from April 2 to August 20, 2017
