FAÇADE investigates the tectonic memory of five historic Mediterranean and European urban landscapes
through the extraction, purification, and sculptural re-composition of their primary architectural building matter.
Moving beyond cosmetic architectural representation and immaterial digital renderings,
artist and architectural scholar Sara Bensalem treats the building envelope as a physical archive.
Each tableau embodies a specific stereotomic reality: compressed ferruginous subsoil from the
Haouz plain surrounding Marrakech; Buntsandstein pink sandstone quarried from the Vosges mountains;
synthetic ultramarine and cobalt oxide from the French Orientalist botanical enclave of Jardin Majorelle;
calcined maritime limestone and crushed marble dust from the white Art Déco façades of Casablanca;
and fermented mountain indigo with slaked air-lime from the Rif medina of Chefchaouen.
Presented both as monolithic planar swatches and hand-compacted sculptural reliefs,
the collection reveals how raw geological strata react to raking directional light throughout
the diurnal cycle. Every work is suspended within an archival Scandinavian white oak floater shadowbox
with a calibrated 5mm negative-space reveal trough, establishing an intimate dialogue between
vernacular building craft and radical minimalist spatial discipline.
THE FIVE PERMANENT TABLEAUS · OVERVIEW PLATES
Nº 1 MARRAKECH
Moroccan Pisé
Nº 2 STRASBOURG
Grès des Vosges
Nº 3 MAJORELLE
Ultramarine Cobalt
Nº 4 CASABLANCA
Chaux Art Déco
Nº 5 CHEFCHAOUEN
Indigo Lime Wash
CHASSIS & MOUNTING ARCHITECTURE
Frame Profile
Scandinavian White Oak floater shadowbox, 18mm face, 55mm deep profile, mitred corners.
Reveal Trough
5mm deep recessed shadow trough finished in carbon-pigmented mineral matte (#250E00).
Substrate Core
15mm cross-laminated marine birch with moisture-sealed phenolic barrier and quartz sand primer.
| Artwork and City |
Location and Coordinates |
Primary Geological Matter |
Binder Chemistry |
Format / Price |
|
FAÇADE Nº 1
MARRAKECH
|
Medina of Marrakech, Morocco
31.6295° N, 7.9811° W
|
Moroccan Pisé
Ferruginous Atlas subsoil red clay
|
Air-slaked lime (CL90-S) with chopped organic flax fiber |
€1,000 (80x120cm)
|
|
FAÇADE Nº 2
STRASBOURG
|
Cathedral precinct, Alsace, France
48.5839° N, 7.7455° E
|
Grès des Vosges
Lower Triassic pink Buntsandstein
|
Potassium silicate matrix with quartz crystal flour |
€1,000 (80x120cm)
|
|
FAÇADE Nº 3
JARDIN MAJORELLE
|
Guéliz, Marrakech, Morocco
31.6416° N, 8.0033° W
|
Majorelle Ultramarine
Synthetic aluminosilicate cobalt oxide
|
Slaked fatty lime paste with zinc stearate fixative |
€1,000 (80x120cm)
|
|
FAÇADE Nº 4
CASABLANCA
|
Boulevard Mohammed V, Morocco
33.5731° N, 7.5898° W
|
Chaux Blanche Art Déco
Calcined Atlantic maritime limestone
|
Crushed Thassos marble aggregate with hydraulic pozzolan |
€1,000 (80x120cm)
|
|
FAÇADE Nº 5
CHEFCHAOUEN
|
Rif Mountain Medina, Morocco
35.1688° N, 5.2636° W
|
Indigo Lime Wash
Fermented natural plant indigo & smalt
|
Air-slaked lime (CL90-S) with potassium methyl siliconate |
€1,000 (80x120cm)
|
CERTIFICATION, PROVENANCE & NFC TAGGING
Certificate of Authenticity
Printed on 300 gsm Hahnemühle William Turner 100% cotton rag, hand-signed and numbered in graphite by Sara Bensalem.
Embedded Cryptographic NFC
NXP NTAG424 DNA silicon chip embedded into oak frame reveal trough. Direct cryptographic tap links to public registry.
Mineral Specimen Inclusion
Accompanied by a numbered borosilicate glass micro-vial containing 5g of raw extracted mineral matter from the site.
ACQUISITION & LOGISTICS FOR CURATORS AND COLLECTORS
Tableaus are released in strictly limited numbered editions: Monumental Edition (80 x 120 cm) capped at 8 numbered copies plus 2 Artist Proofs (€1,000 EUR). All tableaus are hand-fabricated in Sara Bensalem's European atelier.
Crating is custom-built with archival museum foam and shipped worldwide via insured fine-art courier.
Atelier Inquiries
studio@sarabensalem.com
Concierge WhatsApp
+33 6 00 00 00 00
Digital Exhibition Platform
https://facade-sara-bensalem.web.app