Doris Salcedo: "Palimpsest"

The Fondation Beyeler presents Palimpsest by Doris Salcedo. Palimpsest is dedicated to the refugees and migrants who have died attempting to flee their countries by traveling across the Mediterranean or the Atlantic over the past twenty years in search of a better life in Europe.
The exhibition's title derives from the ancient Greek word Palimpsest, which refers to manuscript pages that were reused several times throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages. The traces of the original sentences remained partly visible under the new texts. Doris Salcedo's Palimpsest is a walk-through installation of sand-colored, porous floor slabs. The work consists of two overlapping cycles: the names of those who died during a migration movement before 2010 are set off in fine sand of contrasting color inlaid into the stone slabs; the names of those who died between 2011 and 2016 appear superimposed as drops of water that combine to form letters before seeping away again, in a constant cycle of inscription and erasure.
At the Fondation Beyeler, Palimpsest is installed in the museum's most extensive gallery. It comprises 66 stone slabs across a floor area of around 400 square meters, on which visitors can read 171 of the 300 names.
The Fondation Beyeler will present a large solo exhibition by Doris Salcedo from 21 May to 17 September 2023.