(re)connecting.earth Biennale, 2026 – Jeewi Lee x Phillip C. Reiner

A sand sculpture with a large hole sits on gravel in front of a gray fence.

In the third (re)connecting.earth biennale in Geneva, Tidal Memories presents three sand-grain sculptures. Each a single grain, enlarged two thousand times: its surface caught by nano-CT scanning, to reveal erosion, mineral content, and the record of how far the grain has travelled. One comes from Dadaepo Beach in South Korea, the other two from different continents. The work was first shown at the Sea Art Festival Busan in 2025, and stands nearly two metres high in sand, resin, and EPS. This edition of the biennale, sensitive resources, is a collaboration with Jeewi Lee at Art-Werk in Geneva; the series has moved through soil and water to natural resources, framed by the philosopher Baptiste Morizot's idea of a crisis of sensitivity. Its works are shown as trails through public space. In Grand Geneve the parcours runs from 25 April to 14 June 2026, linking artworks, institutions, and natural sites between Geneva and Annemasse, reachable by tram, the Leman Express, bike, and on foot along the Voie Verte. Sand is the material and the subject: a resource growing scarcer, global consumption running past fifty billion tonnes a year.

Research:
The sculptures are built from nano-CT scans. A single grain, enlarged two thousand times, becomes a form near two metres, so the scan data has to be scaled up enormously, while the result stays structurally sound. The DICOM image stack is reconstructed into printable 3D geometry, with detail kept where fidelity matters and simplified where production demands it.

Three sand and resin sculptures sit on gravel near a hedge.
Three sand and resin sculptures sit on gravel in a park near a bench and trees.
Two sand and resin sculptures sit on a gravel path near a bench and trees.
Two sand and resin sculptures sit on gravel before a green hedge.
Three sand, resin, and EPS sculptures sit on gravel and grass near trees.
A sand and resin sculpture sits on gravel with a large opening and pitted surface.
A sand sculpture sits on gravel in front of a green hedge.

Photography: Phillip C. Reiner, Julien Gremaud, art-werk
https://jeewi.de
https://geneva03.reconnecting.earth

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