"Fragment-Proximity_Sa-Rapita_23-41" investigates a single sand grain from Mallorca's Sa Rapita coast, part of a global collection spanning coastal locations worldwide. The sculpture presents this grain enlarged approximately 1000 times through nano-CT scanning and 3D printing in sand. What normally remains invisible becomes tactile landscape-microscopic geological detail confronting viewers at monumental scale. The work addresses sand's paradox: metaphor for infinity yet disappearing resource. Global consumption reaches 50 billion tonnes annually while angular particles suitable for construction grow scarce. Desert sand, rounded smooth by wind, remains structurally useless despite vast quantities. The grain from Sa Rapita carries traces of Mediterranean geology-stone fragments, shell particles, mineral compositions shaped by coastal processes. Each surface feature records erosion patterns, transport histories, temporal forces operating beyond human perception. Presented at Festival of Future Nows 2025-the third edition returning to Neue Nationalgalerie after inaugural 2014 and 2017 iterations-the sculpture participates in the festival's exploration of urgent social and ecological issues. Among 100 international artistic positions spanning performances, installations, and participatory works, the sand grain sculpture grounds abstract resource crisis in material specificity, making planetary boundaries tangible through geological evidence.
Photography: Christopher Haering
