Sparkle of the remains

2021 - 2025

The Spectral Palace -
Photograms and chromatic variations from the Grand Palais renovation site (2021–2024)

Built in 1900, the Grand Palais in Paris stands as a symbol of triumphal modernity. A century later, in 2021, under the direction of architect François Chatillon, the building entered a dramatic metamorphosis. The immense chantier, a colossal endeavor, mobilized a multitude of trades: mosaic artists, sculptors, metalworkers, carpenters, glass restorers, all working to restore the monument to its former glory. The great nave was dismantled piece by piece and then reassembled, like a vast puzzle, a work of art in the making. Marguerite Bornhauser was fortunate to witness this historic moment from the heart of the transformation.

Invited in residence by the Grand Palais and supported by patron Louis Roederer, Marguerite Bornhauser chose a sensitive approach, a form of poetic documentary. Year after year, she wandered through the labyrinth of the site, capturing its evolution in photographs - the hidden details, the traces of ongoing transformation. But more than that, with the help of workers, craftspeople, and engineers, she collected debris and forgotten fragments, carefully labeling each piece with its date and place of discovery, preserving them in her studio.

Using these discarded elements from the site, she turned to color photogram, a camera-less, analogue process, placing the debris directly on photosensitive paper in the darkroom. Chemistry, matter, and light revealed abstract, vivid forms in which color and texture come alive. These images transform ordinary objects into ghosts, into apparitions where memory and abstraction intertwine. Traditionally a black-and-white medium, the photogram here evolves into a rich chromatic language.

These remnants are tiny traces of a grand story; they bear witness to a transformation in progress, to the hands at work, to fleeting moments. They carry within them the marks of change, the subtle traces preserved by History. An old bolt, a plate, a discarded piece become material for reverie, rich in intimate and fragile memory. This body of work restores a sensitive memory of the site; the ghost of the Palace reveals itself in these suspended fragments, these colorful residues where the radiance of the ordinary illuminates the unseen. It is the aesthetic of the almost nothing, the poetry of forgotten details, the quiet song of remains still shining.

Unique prints 2021–2024 - various sizes
With the support of RMN Grand Palais and Louis Roederer

This project will result in an artist’s book published by Éditions Poursuite, and an exhibition at the Grand Palais.