The title Scree refers to unstable terrain—loose stones, gravel, and shifting ground that moves beneath your feet as you descend a hillside. Nina draws on this image of physical instability to explore a broader interest: the destabilization of space itself. In this exhibition, the gallery becomes a site of subtle upheaval, where surfaces and meanings shift under pressure. This engagement with the ground—both literal and metaphorical—also speaks to the geological history of the area. The gallery, located on Rue des Sablons (Street of the Sands), carries within its name a sedimented past, echoed in the material and spatial language of the exhibition. The church-facing room, more muted in tone, becomes a quiet counterpoint, emphasizing atmosphere over assertion. One of the central works in the show, Screee, extends the title by one letter—a small disruption that signals the work’s role in intensifying the exhibition’s themes. The yellow structure is the housing for a mortar pump, a tool designed to move and manipulate matter. The piece is closely related to Nina’s Hardscapes series, particularly in its use of shells, a material she has returned to repeatedly in recent years. Here, shells function as both fragment and fossil, anchoring the work in cycles of erosion, transformation, and recomposition.

This work was previously featured in the exhibitions:
Solo show, Scree, Nina Canell, MW Brussels, 2022