Groundwork examines how materials such as stone, dust, carbon and clay shape both art and the built environment, reflecting on the ideas and processes informing the Keyes Art Mile 2.0 expansion.

This exhibition marks the breaking of ground for the expansion of Keyes Art Mile — a moment of physical construction and cultural transition. The selected artworks engage directly with material: stone, granite, sand, carbon, dust, paper fibre, clay and metal. These substances echo the building process itself, reminding us that architecture and cities are shaped from geological matter, natural resources and human labour.

Several works explore weight, endurance and transformation, while others register elemental forces such as fire, erosion and growth. A key reference is Karel Nel’s use of 540-million-year-old carboniferous dust, which places contemporary development within a deep geological timeline and invites reflection on scale, responsibility and continuity.

Rather than illustrating the architecture, the exhibition offers a parallel way of thinking about how environments are formed — materially, culturally and imaginatively — aligning with Keyes Art Mile’s vision of integrating art, landscape and urban life.

Image Credits

Nel, Karel
Sound Syntax
Medium: 540 Million year old Carboniferous dust, Vermillion pigment and Salt
Date Created: 2008