You are in Lagos, Nigeria. But in the exhibition floor, you are at the shores of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Cities are constantly in a state of development. All over the world they have come to depend on their increasing populations for survival. With continuous growth, cities give way to bridges, hospitals, roads, and buildings that are all constructed to support the populations that live within them and call them home.
Dar es Salaam is one of the many growing cities of today. People from all over Tanzania and the rest of the world are drawn to this city for various reasons. But unlike many other cities, the residents of Dar es Salaam depend on the coastal environment for their livelihood and survival. From the countless seafood options, to the many beaches that support social and economic interactions, the Dar es Salaam coast and the Indian Ocean have much to offer the residents of Dar es Salaam. But besides the more obvious elements that make up the coastal borders of Dar es Salaam, there is one valuable resource that they hold in abundance.
Acting as the backbone of every major city, SAND is sought after by construction companies around the world. Seen as the primary ingredient used in cement, “ 50 billion tonnes of sand” are extracted for use by the construction industry from the river beds and shores of our coasts, annually, none of which is ever returned.
The 50 billion tonnes of sand thought to be extracted for construction every year is enough to build a nine-storey wall around the planet
UN Environment Programme 2023
Temporary things are the most fragile;
Fragile things are the most valuable.
The natural world has a way of reminding us of life’s abruptness and impermanence. When you think of the changing winds, the drifting sea debris, and the sunny days that suddenly become cloudy and dark with downpouring rain, we are reminded that nothing is ever truly the same forever. With each passing second, our planet is truly unpredictable, making the passage of time both a valuable source of stressful uncertainty and blissful surrender.
Knowing that nothing lasts forever we must become opposed to taking the world and its material resources for granted. In our taking, we must find ways to also give back. Time’s passing is a valuable blessing that gives us more than we need. It gives us the chance to try again. Over and over, with time, we are able to transform things as long as we act on it.
The unique cultural perception of time and the loss of it can be described as Sasa and Zamani in Swahili tradition.
Sasa is really an experiential extension of the Now-moment… Zamani becomes the period beyond which nothing can go. Zamani is the graveyard of time, the period of termination, the dimension in which everything finds its halting place… An ocean of time in which everything becomes absorbed into a reality that is neither after nor before. Zamani is the period of termination, the dimension in which everything finds its halting place
In the natural world, reciprocity is the law. It is the boundary that limits our implosion. It is the moat around a sand castle. It is the only thing protecting us from our ability to destroy ourselves.
Laws of nature speak of balance and repetitive cycles. These ideas either present the world as a vengeful place or simply as an entity that seeks out balance and reciprocity. So it is only natural that when we as people take resources like sand without any kinds of restrictions that the planet responds with the flow of flooded rivers, and the encroachment of deserted forests. In this cycle, it is visible that in a world that gives abundantly we must expect that it has the same right to take it all back.
The visual function of an hourglass speaks to this language of balance and duality. We are presented with two opposing separate energies that are codependent and relying energetically on each other. One part of the hourglass sits precariously atop the other, releasing its burden to make room for an exchange of equal value. This same visual language manifests itself between the ocean and the shores, the process of erosion, the sun and the moon, the rivers and the clouds, and life and death.
Give and Take
In the room of reciprocity, we call on visitors to balance the elements needed for the continuity of life, and a harmonious coexistence of all things by joining in the simple dance of give and take.
Take a moment: think of all the earth provides
Give a sentiment: write down a prayer or wish for the planet and her future.
Leave it all in the sand.
Ruination is an ongoing process in the present as opposed to the romantic notions granted to the ruins of the distant past. The ruins of the present are in essence transitional spaces, locations stuck in a place of liminality, caught between purpose and inevitable decline which is oftentimes the result of improper design or a disregard for nature's pulsations.
We may also rethink these ruins as potential places of transformation instead of mere remnants of loss and abandonment. In their fragments, they may be seen as a reflection of our reality, a world where supposed solutions fail to address the overarching issues at play. Are these ruins not, in some way, a mirror to the failures embedded within the mechanisms designed to solve them?
The scars left by extractive processes like sand mining—emptied and vanishing landscapes, disturbed coasts, depleted ecosystems—reflect the material culture of our time. The everyday objects we surround ourselves with today, our electronics, plastic containers, clothing and other synthetic materials will one day become the artefacts of future civilizations, buried in Magofu Ya Sasa. Just as we study artefacts from former places, generations coming may in time unearth the remnants of our disposable culture, piecing together fragmented narratives of how we consumed, and shaped our environment.
There is a certain tension between decay and habitation, between industrial activities of the Anthropocene and the accelerated ruination of the present. In the drive for progress, we are faced with the ephemerality of our creations.
Nothing lasts, and there are no 'little forevers' in a world where we extract, build, and discard at an increasing pace without forethought.
Ironically, the mining of sand from rivers and beaches which are meant to support the growth of our cities contributes to the disintegration of the cityscape. We erase the foundations of our environment, using the same materials to construct and destruct, to fuel development and accelerate collapse. So, what happens when we continue to take without regard? What is left when the balance between creation and destruction tips too far toward ruin? What are the long-term consequences when we view the environment as an inexhaustible resource?
If we continue to see sand as an endless supply, we risk creating a future where the cost of development is not just environmental degradation but the collapse of the very cities we aim to build. And the everyday objects left behind? They will stand as remnants, artefacts of a time when we failed to see the fragility of the world we actively shaped.
Protect Earth.
Usipoziba ufa, utajenga ukuta
Ruins do not happen all at once, it is a gradual process that takes years to occur.
Noah Okwudini
About Ala Praxis
Ala Praxis is a research focused collective transforming ideas into practical realities by developing projects that are rooted in the principles of environmental sustainability and Earth centered technology.
The collective is made up of:
Peace Toba Olatunji, Philip Fagbeyiro, Jadesola Olaniyan, Josh Ike Egesi, Noah Misan Okwudini, Timilehin Osanyintolu
