Sanctuary Slimane

September, 2022
Sanctuary Slimane
Marrakech, Morocco

Working with Sanctuary Slimane’s master ceramist Adil El Khaoua, Ellie created a 144 piece sundial spanning over 5 meters in diameter.

The design is laid out in sections that each represent an hour of time. There are 16 sections to show all the possible hours of sunlight throughout the year (5am-9pm) in Marrakech, where the work is installed, Brooklyn where Ellie lives, and Verbier Switzerland, a beloved place of Aziz and Sarah.

There are 12 colors in the design. Each specific color represents the summer and winter solstice and the spring and fall equinox for Marrakech, Brooklyn, and Verbier. The yellow colors represent Summer, the orange, red and purple are Fall, the greens are Spring and the blues are Winter. These colors line up to create a central design at the 11am-1pm section of the sundial. The order of the colors are based on the calculation of where the shadow would be casted at noon on the solstice and equinox days in each of the cities.

The colored lines that span out from the central design show the sunrise and sunset times for Marrakech, Brooklyn, and Verbier on the days of the solstice and equinox. For example, on the day of the Fall Equinox in Marrakesh, September 23 (represented as the brightest orange in the design), the lines point to 7:20am sunrise and 7:27pm sunset.

Ellie worked with a local metalsmith to create a gnomon using traditional Moroccan stained glass. The gnomon design and dimensions were based on several factors. The angle of the gnomon is 31 degrees which is the latitude of the place it sits in Marrakech, Morocco. The height of the gnomon was determined by the delineation of the sun on the Solstice and Equinox days. This allows the gnomon to cast a shadow at noon on any solstice or equinox that will line up with the sundial’s design and accurately depict the time. This means that on the Winter Solstice of 2022 on December 21, 2022, the shadow of the sun at noon will reach the outer edge of the light blue in the design.

A rod is welded to the base of the gnomon and fits into a cylinder cemented in the ground. This allows for the gnomon to be pivoted to account for daylight savings time and religious determination of time.

MAGICAL is how I would describe this residency experience. Thank you Sanctuary Slimane for inviting me to your home and supporting this project. <3

https://www.sanctuaryslimane.com