FIELD NOTES / MLI / Western Africa
Mali
Monumental earth & projecting timber.
START WITH A PLACE
Tomb of Askia
The Tomb of Askia at Gao is a pyramidal earthen monument associated with the Songhai Empire. It belongs to a wider complex of religious buildings and gathering space in the West African Sahel.
Read the source UNESCO World Heritage CentreA CLOSER LOOK
A study in mass and surface.
Compare the monument’s tapering mass with the smaller elements that articulate its surface. Read earthen construction as an ongoing practice of care.
An editorial observation prompt, grounded in the reference above.
WORKING COLOUR
A palette to begin with.
Five editorial tones for this surface family. Use them as a starting point for a study; they are not measured samples from the site.
Limestone paper#eee7d8oklch(0.929 0.021 85.945)
Warm sediment#c6ad86oklch(0.760 0.060 78.678)
Earth ochre#a36545oklch(0.568 0.092 47.550)
Weathered slate#657d79oklch(0.569 0.029 184.084)
Carbon ink#282b2boklch(0.286 0.004 196.917)