Selenite Dreams by BUREAU explores the essence of plaster and its transformation within space
Dylan Perrenoud

Selenite Dreams by BUREAU explores the essence of plaster and its transformation within space

1 Jun 2023  •  News  •  By Allie Shiell

Presented at Audemars Piguet in Brassus, Switzerland, Selenite Dreams is an exhibition design by BUREAU (Daniel Zamarbide, Carine Pimenta, Galliane Zamarbide) that explores the very presence and essence of plaster as a material and its transformation within space. 

photo_credit Dylan Perrenoud
Dylan Perrenoud

Upon entering the exhibition, the art pieces of Nina Beier, Latifa Echakhch, Raphael Hefti, Olivier Laric, and Christodoulos Panayiotou (among others) are found in a seemingly undefined white grotto of plaster walls and vaults that bring the visitor into close contact with the art pieces. 

photo_credit Dylan Perrenoud
Dylan Perrenoud

Echoing Dali's delusive art, an exhibition space's usual white cube condition seems to have melted, resulting in unclear edges and a spatial continuum or topological formation. 

In response to Jill Stoner's book 'Towards a minor architecture' BUREAU contemplates themselves as 'minor architects.' Therefore, working with plaster is appropriate for this latest exhibition; plaster, the extracted form of gypsum, primarily comprises calcium sulfate dihydrate. It is a simple material that has been used widely to prefigure and anticipate master art pieces around the world, fabricating figurative positive molds of definite sculptures.

photo_credit Dylan Perrenoud
Dylan Perrenoud

The material also references mythological reveries as gypsum's synonym is selenite, a material referenced in the dreamy sphere of Selene, goddess of the moon, and related to many wonderous sites such as the stunning crystal caves - La Cueva de los ristales - in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. In other forms, plaster is used for bone fractures, soft tissue injuries, orthopedic diseases, and inflammatory processes, bringing stability and rest to wounded parts of the body.