This
project on an industrial site started as a landscape commission but in
response to several constraints, turned into more of an artistic expression
of a field of sunflowers. The site is the power block of the Noor 1 solar power
station in the Solar Complex Noor, Ouarzazate in the south of Morocco. The fact that using the water necessary for
plant growth attracts snakes and scorpions in this arid environment gave rise
to two major considerations: the power block is where human activity and
offices are located; natural predators are discouraged by the heat generated
around the solar captors. The idea of using living plants in this challenging
environment was therefore ruled out.
Instead,
I sought to capture the essence of a living landscape and immediately thought
of sunflowers which, like the solar captors, follow the sun. The shape of the
petals was adapted to reflect the Moroccan geometric zellij designs
synonymous with Moroccan architecture and design. By morphing the form of a sunflower's petals
into a known geometric shape used extensively in Moroccan art and architecture,
the dialectic between nature and culture was expressed.
To
increase the legibility of the project for a viewer on the ground, stone bands
were laid out in a geometric pattern. Wooden posts were used with a slanted
top, painted in bright yellow and all facing in the same direction emulating
the natural phenomenon of sunflowers in a field all facing in the same direction.
Wood was preferred over metal to introduce a natural plant-derived material in
this tough industrial setting.
The
wooden posts are derived by the recycling of disused wooden telephone poles cut
down to size.
Contractor:
Artfac
