Argela

Argela is an exhibition composed by two new projects by Lara Almarcegui produced for the occasion, with the aim of deepening into the reflection on Ibiza’s territory, its geological past and the origin of what it is constructed.

Argela (clay) is an installation with about 100 m3 of clay extracted from a quarry located a short distance from the gallery. The project presents the material in relation with the built space, its geology and the terrain on which it arises. Showing the absolutely raw material, the public confronts the territory reduced to mere construction materials, as well as the great volume and materiality of the built space. These works by Lara Almarcegui involve spectacular meditations about the relationship and dependence between physics, politics and architecture. Taking construction studies one step further, Almarcegui has been devoted to analyze the origins of materials in their geological past. Thus, as part of the effort to study with detail every material, her last projects have been called Sand (Springhornhof Neunkirchen, 2017), Gravel (Art Basel, 2018), Concrete (CAIRN Centre d’Art Digne-les-Bains, 2019, and now, Argela. These materials installations, presenting what is underground and how It is exploited, raising the problem of extraction to produce construction materials and questioning the ownership of natural resources.

The second work Lara Almarcegui has done for the occasion is Rocks and Materials of Ibiza: a list that identifies all the rocks and sediments that compose the island. The list refers to the geological past -when the territory was generated- but also to the changes due to the extractive activity for building. Reacting to edification of a large part of the surface of the island and to the extraction of all the rocks and clay necessary to carry it out, the list aims to reflect about the future of Ibiza, trying to warn about the possible destruction of the territory. The list was made under the indications of the IGME geologists, who made the geological maps of the island and collaborated with the project by establishing a system to identify and measure all the strata.

Gravel is a video about a larger intervention produced for the exhibition Basilea by Creative Time, commissioned by Messe Basel. In it, mountains of gravel increased every day following the extraction rhythm from a quarry of the city. During the art fair week, each morning 250 tons of gravel were brought to the square in 10 trucks. This project was an invitation to reflect on the production of concrete and the harvest of extraction on the territory.