Memories of the Mountain

Geology has its own kind of entropy. Everything is gradually wearing down. Little by little, wind erodes rock, water carries away the riverbanks. This irreversible process continuously metamorphosizes our earth. However, by extracting natural materials for the building of our cities, we intervene with geological entropy in a very different way. Stones and rocks—among other resources—are manually carved out from the great mountain to supply the construction of thriving cities, like those found across Southern Ontario. As a result, the landscape is reshaped by endless quarries. While mining technology advances faster than ever, the seemingly immovable mountain, formed slowly over millions of years, now undergoes new anthropocentric-geological transformations with inconceivable speed. 

In this context, the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington (VAC) is excited to announce a site-specific exhibition in collaboration with Studio Pararaum—a Toronto-Zürich design and architecture collaborative established by Meng Li and Linda Zhang. Featuring photography collaborations with Félix Michaud and film collaborations with Christian Flemm, Memories of the Mountain combines rubber formwork with creative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ceramics to investigate alternative approaches to the culture around building—reimagining our relationship to geological extraction through architecture, urban design, and technology. 

Studio Pararaum challenges oppositions between nature and technology. In their early research, the studio conducted field studies to explore the physical sensuality of extraction sites. They visited subterranean mines and quarries as stand-ins for the Earth’s collective mountain, capturing its surface at each site through a combined process of 3D scanning, latex casting, and bioplastic moulding—termed “Rock-skins.” These skins are impermanent. They can be peeled away, leaving the mountain “untouched” while simultaneously capturing its surfaces, impressions, and memories. 

The rock-skin is later digitized and repetitively processed by AI algorithms. The virtual system learns from the uploaded models, reshaping the skins’ surfaces into new, digitally-generated samples of ecological material that later become ceramic sculptures. These creations demonstrate how architecture can participate towards an alternative ecological future, which acknowledges and reconnects us with disappearing geological formations. They will position us against real-world sites while situating our urban design processes more compassionately in-between the geological/man-made, city/landscape, emotive/scientific, and immaterial/technological. 

We are eager to witness how these interactions inform and inspire our community and others working toward sustainable futures across the mountain beyond.