A Path of Dry Grass Across the Alpine Meadows
The hay bale installation that traverses the alpine pastures of the Italian Dolomites is part of the international open-air art biennale SMACH 2025. It evokes the image of a massive hay bale rolling up and down the mountainside, leaving trails of dry grass behind, and translates this vision into a canopy-like structure that follows the contours of the landscape. Beneath it, shaded areas emerge for rest and gathering, inviting reflection on labor, landscape, and regeneration. The path formed along the slopes of the meadow recalls, from a distance, the trails of the Dolomites, while the undulating structure mirrors the rhythm of the surrounding mountains.
Originally a functional agricultural object used for storing and transporting fodder, the hay bale is removed from its utilitarian context and transformed into a sculptural and architectural element. It becomes a material mediator, highlighting the relationship between human labor, tools, and nature. The installation loosens the compacted, bundled hay and reconfigures it along the contours of the meadow. In some sections, it lies directly on the ground, forming a continuous path; in others, it is lifted lightly to create shaded passages. The undulating structure echoes the topography of the Dolomites, blurring the boundary between the artificial and the natural. At the same time, it engages with the traditional wooden barns, or tablà, found in the Ladin valleys, connecting subtly to the local landscape.
The construction is designed with minimal intervention. Vertical rebars are driven into the ground and tied with horizontal steel rods to form a lightweight frame, over which wire mesh supports the unfurled hay. The hay is secured with grass ropes. This simple system adapts flexibly to varied terrain while minimizing its footprint on the meadow. Up close, the fibrous, layered surface of the hay filters light softly, casting shadows with a rough texture under the canopy and creating a delicate, tactile atmosphere.
The installation resonates with SMACH 2025’s theme, “la cu”, the Ladin word for a whetstone used to sharpen harvesting blades. It symbolizes the reciprocal relationship between human labor and the land. Visitors can walk along or beneath the canopy, moving through the landscape, and pause on rectangular hay bales arranged as seating. Over time, the hay naturally decomposes and returns to the soil, completing a cycle of cultivation, transformation, and renewal.
Project: Trace of Land / Location: La Crusc, Dolomiti, Italy / Architect: ELSE / Lead Architects: Zhifei Xu, Zimo Zhang / Construction Team: Zhifei Xu, Zimo Zhang, Qiannan Ruan / Use: installation / Gross floor area: 100m² / Completion: 2025 / Photograph: ©Gustav Willeit (courtesy of the architect), ©Elisa Cappellari (courtesy of the architect)
