Spectral Matter

Developed during a residency at the Grand Palais while the building was undergoing renovation, Spectral Matter draws on discarded materials found on the construction site. Through these fragments, Marguerite Bornhauser seeks to capture the site’s intangible memory. Over several years, she explored the spaces as they were transformed, collecting elements abandoned on the ground — shards of materials, anonymous debris, and remnants of the construction work — which she carefully catalogued and preserved..

Using these discarded materials, the artist created a series of colour photograms. Made without a camera, this technique involves placing objects directly onto photosensitive paper. Through the effects of light and chemical reactions, chromatic variations transform these remnants into abstract compositions, where matter becomes colour and detail becomes image.