'craquelures dans le réel' is an ephemeral device that ploughs & irrigates asphalt

CRAQUELURES DANS LE RÉEL at lausanne jardins 24

Lausanne Jardins 24 is a quinquennial festival that took place in the Swiss city’s Parking de Bellerive. The 2024 program introduced visitors to one of the festival’s winning competition entries, CRAQUELURES DANS LE RÉEL. Designed as an ephemeral device, the installation reflects the collective effort of five creative studios — Atelier II0I0I, KOIZ, KRI, PALMA, and MOFA — and emerges as a steel tower that responds to the site’s conditions: a garden that has succumbed to the marks of time over the past three months, suggesting that landscapes are never static. ‘They evolve continuously, influenced by seasonal shifts and long-term changes. Natural processes such as erosion and succession, combined with human activity, drive these transformations. Soil, in its capacity to sustain multiple lives, embodies this dynamic nature,’ shares the project team.

image © Federico Lepre

a choreography of ploughing and irrigating

CRAQUELURES DANS LE RÉEL embraces these natural shifts observed at the Lausanne Jardins 24 festival site, intentionally interacting with the landscape by introducing bold new morphologies. Ploughing, once a historical farming practice, is revived here as a performative action, marking the land’s past while engaging with the modern setting of a parking lot. By exposing the soil and planting seeds, the ephemeral installation sets in motion a process of growth. This choreography is further enriched by the installation of irrigation devices and water features, fostering the development of the new garden.

image © Federico Lepre

This intervention sparks a transformation, pairing the natural rhythms of the existing and emerging landscapes. It highlights nature’s interconnectedness, the intricate balance of human-soil-water relations, and the scale-dependence of ecological systems. By plowing through asphalt, CRAQUELURES DANS LE RÉEL uncovers a forgotten resource, awakening a reclaimed landscape and encouraging spontaneous growth. As a manifesto within the Parking de Bellerive, it redefines the relationship between cars and the garden, integrating them into a mechanical yet organic environment. Lausanne Jardins 24 ran until October 5, 2024.

image © Piercarlo Quecchia (DSL Studio)